Double-Crusted Pluot Crisp
(Serves 8 to 10)

Click here for a printable version of the recipe.

This recipe is a crisp lover’s delight: the topping is not only crumbled over the top of the fruit, it is also spread as the base of the dish. Pluots are a cross between an apricot and a plum, but the sugar content of a pluot is much higher than that of any ordinary plum or apricot, yielding fruit of incomparable sweetness, The fruit looks like a plum on the outside, and just like plums, they come in many colors and sizes. A popular variety is Dapple Dandy; its skin is greenish yellow with red spots, turning maroon dappled with yellow as it matures. Flavor Grenade and Flavor King are two other wonderful varieties appearing at different times of the season. For this recipe, feel free to mix and match any varieties you find at the peak of ripeness.

CRISP
1-1/3 cups (7 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 cup (3-1/2 ounces) rolled oats
3/4 cup packed (5-3/4 ounces) brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
10 tablespoons (5 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

FRUIT FILLING
1/2 cup (3-1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Pinch of fine sea salt
8 pluots, thinly sliced (6 cups prepped)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350F.
To make the crisp, mix the flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt together in a bowl, then stir in the melted butter. Press a little more than half of the mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch square baking pan.

To make the fruit filling, rub the granulated sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a large bowl, then add the pluots, lemon juice, and vanilla and toss to combine.

Spread the fruit evenly over the bottom layer of the crisp, then sprinkle the remaining crisp on top. Bake in the middle of the oven for 60 minutes, or until the crisp is golden and the fruit bubbles up through the topping. Cool for 20 minutes before serving.

Storage: Wrapped in plastic wrap, any leftovers will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days. Rewarm in a 300F oven until heated thorough.