Summertime down on the farm.
Happy Thursday, friends! They say apple pie and baseball and Chevrolet are ‘Merican summertime staples, but I’d argue that a good fruit crisp stomps all of those. Especially the last one – I’m a Toyota loyalist for life after last weekend.
Anyway, not that we’re eating cars.
Apple pie is fine and dandy, but Homestyle Strawberry Bourbon Crisp is elite. The boozy, jammy filling is just delightful combined with the brown butter oat topping – and it’s all quite effortless, if I may say so. J and I went at the plate with two spoons throughout the day, and not a crumb remained by evenfall.
I’d bake up two of these for the Fourth, because dessert is always worth celebrating.
Bourbon in the ‘Burbs
Or the urbs. I don’t care where you are, really.
But first, we make the crumb topping. The brown butter is a tiny extra step but WOW is it luscious; I used the same formula in my Cinnamon Bourbon Peach Crisp last year.
Toss a stick in a saucepan and let it cook down until the bottom becomes golden, about 4-5 minutes. A good indicator of proper browning? The hissing and spitting will stop and some of the frothing will begin to collapse. When the kitchen goes quiet, pay attention, as the butter will burn quickly if you’re not careful.
Pour the butter into a small heatproof bowl and stir with flour, oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
The berry filling is very straightforward. Pluck off the stems and slice your fruit in half. In a large bowl, mix the berries with brown sugar, bourbon, cornstarch, and vanilla. The starch helps prevent a runny filling.
Spread the berries into a lightly buttered pie dish. Sprinkle the crumb topping all over. Try not to lick your fingers too much.
Bake at 350 for 25-40 minutes. The strawberry filling will bubble and reach up the sides of the plate, and the crumble will be golden.
Cool about 10 minutes in the pan, the scoop out as massive a portion as you wish, and top with a mountain of vanilla ice cream. Oohlala!
Leftovers? Crisp keeps well, covered, in the fridge for up to 3 days. I’d recommend leaving the crisp in its pie plate rather than trying to transfer it into a different container. You’ll probably fuck it up if you do that.
Other berries? You can certainly mix the strawberries with any other berry! Hell, even peaches. I bet that’d be wonderful.
Happy baking, friends!
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
I’m berry hungry for treats:
Strawberry Vanilla Surprise Cupcakes
Baked Strawberry Glazed Doughnuts
homestyle strawberry bourbon crisp
Ingredients
- 5 cups strawberries, stems removed and halved
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 tbsp bourbon
- 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
cinnamon crumb topping
- 1 stick butter
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-inch pie plate with butter.
- In a small saucepan or skillet, melt the butter until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. You'll know the butter is browning when the hissing and spitting noises stop and the color deepens…to, you know, a brown color.
- Cool the butter slightly, then add to a bowl along with the flour, oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix the halved berries with the brown sugar, bourbon, cornstarch, and vanilla. Spread into the prepared pie plate. Evenly sprinkle the crumb overtop.
- Bake 35-40 minutes until very bubbly, and the crumb topping is golden and crisp. Cool about 10 minutes, then scoop out a big ole portion and top with a heap of vanilla ice cream!
