Nectarine and Raspberry Crumble. It's Not a Cobbler or a Crisp.

It's that time of year again when people everywhere find themselves completely confused about crisps, crumbles, and cobblers, not to mention brown bettys, slumps, and grunts. I talked about this last year, and many of you bravely fessed up to your own inability to remember which is which. I think I'm finally starting to remember. How 'bout you? Think you know the difference yet? Let's find out.

(Click here to cue Jeopardy music.)

And no cheating, Dad.

1. This dessert has a dough-like crust, which can be enclosed or made as a biscuit topping.
What is a ___________.

2. This dessert is made by mixing fruit with sugar and spices and topping it with a streusel, which is a mixture of butter, sugar, flour, and nuts.
What is a ___________.

3. This dessert is made by mixing fruit of your choice with sugar and spices then topping it with a crisp mix made of butter and sugar and a binding agent such as flour or oatmeal.
What is a _____________.

OK, hands off the keyboard, folks. Let's see how you did. #1 is a cobbler. #2 is a crumble. #3 is a crisp. If you missed any, don't worry. The best way to learn something is by doing it -- so make all three desserts and eat them!

Start with the simplest of all, my Triple Berry Rhubarb Crisp.



Then try the bit more complicated but still very doable Fresh Apricot and Cherry Cobbler with Buttermilk Biscuit Crust:



Finally make this Nectarine and Raspberry Crumble. Nectarines are coming into season right now, and their sweetness and aroma blend beautifully with tart fresh raspberries. The fruit is perfumed with fresh ginger and vanilla extract then coated with an irresistible streusel topping made with brown sugar, pecans, and a medley of spices. It's delicious as is, but I won't discourage you from topping it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of silky creme fraiche.



Nectarine and Raspberry Crumble
Serves 6
Print recipe only here.

Crumble:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Filling:
4 cups sliced fresh nectarines, about 7-8 medium sized fruits
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups fresh (or unthawed frozen) raspberries
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 3 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9-inch round pie dish with cooking spray.

To make the crumble, place the butter in a bowl. Using your hands, break it into small pieces, then work in the sugar, flour, and pecans. Gently mix it, breaking up any large clumps. Using a rubber spatula stir in the cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Set aside.

To make the fruit filling, in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the nectarines and sugars. Cook until slightly tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add the raspberries, ginger, and dissolved cornstarch. Stir until the mixture begins to thicken and bubble up, about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, and stir in the vanilla extract.

Pour the fruit filling into the prepared pie dish, and sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until the topping is golden and fruit filling is bubbling up around the edges. Allow to cool before serving. It's best served at room temperature or just slightly warm.

You might also like:

Peach and Blueberry Galette





Mini Custards with Limoncello-Spiked Raspberry Sauce





Summertime Strawberry Pie




Here are more delicious summertime crumbles:
Aran's Almond and Cherry Crumble
Chris's Blueberry Crumble
Christine's Peach and Blackberry Crumble
Joey's Nectarine Crumble
Julie's Apricot Berry Crumble

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Triple Berry Rhubarb Crisp (and Why It's Not a Cobbler or a Crumble)

I never remember the difference between a crisp, a crumble, and a cobbler (not to mention brown bettys, slumps, or grunts).

Crisps, crumbles, and cobblers are all low-maintenance desserts made with seasonal fruits or berries that have the flavor of pie without the work of actually making one.

A crisp is made by mixing fruit of your choice with sugar and spices then topping it with a crisp mix made of butter and sugar and a binding agent such as flour or oatmeal.

A crumble is similar to a crisp. It's made by mixing fruit with sugar and spices and topping it with a streusel, a mixture of butter, sugar, flour, and nuts.

Cobblers take longer to make than crisps and crumbles because they have a dough-like crust. Some cobblers are made with enclosed crusts while others, like my Fresh Apricot and Cherry Cobbler with Buttermilk Biscuit Crust, are made with a biscuit topping.

So when I felt like having a rhubarb berry pie but didn't feel like making a pie crust, I made a crisp (aka a lazy Susan's pie). Since I prefer a highly textured crisp, I combined chewy oatmeal, crunchy nuts, and flaky coconut. Part of the crisp's beauty though is its versatility, so have fun experimenting with different fruit and crisp combinations until you find one that tickles your palate. Or just make this triple berry rhubarb crisp.



Tangy rhubarb is mellowed by succulent vine-ripened strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries for a satisfyingly sweet-tart dessert. Though it's effortless to make, it never fails to elicit smiles from guests who delight in the sugary fruit bubbling around the edges of the crisp.

It's delicious as is, but I don't need to tell you that adding a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream doesn't hurt.

Triple Berry Rhubarb Crisp
Serves 6
Print recipe only here.

Crisp:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup chopped almonds or sliced almonds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
4 tablespoons butter

Filling:
2 cups chopped rhubarb (about 1 pound), sliced into 1/2-inch thick pieces
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 cup fresh strawberries, chopped
1 cup fresh blackberries
1 cup fresh raspberries
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 3 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9-inch round pie dish with cooking spray.

To make the crisp, place the sugar, flour, oats, and coconut in a medium bowl, and using your hands, gently mix it, breaking up any large clumps. Add the almonds, cinnamon, and ground ginger. Toss gently. Pour melted butter evenly over the mixture, and gently stir with a spoon until well combined and moist.

To make the fruit filling, in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, add the rhubarb and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes (it will release water, so it won't burn). Add the sugars, berries, and ginger to the pan gently crushing the fruit with a fork or spoon. Once it reaches a boil, add the dissolved cornstarch. Return to a boil, whisking constantly, for 3-5 minutes, or until the mixture is thick. Turn off heat, and stir in the vanilla extract.

Pour the fruit filling into the prepared pie dish, and sprinkle the crisp mix evenly over the top. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the topping is golden and fruit filling is bubbling up around the edges. Allow to cool before serving. It's best served at room temperature or just slightly warm.

You might also like:

Fresh Apricot and Cherry Cobbler with Buttermilk Biscuit Crust





Fresh Cherry and Peach Upside-Down Cake





Mini Custards with Limoncello-Spiked Raspberry Sauce





Strawberry-Rhubarb Sponge Pudding





And a few more:

• Clotilde's Raspberry Rhubarb Grunt
• Glenna's Apple Brown Betty
  
• Half-Baked's Blueberry Nectarine Crisp
• Helen's Warm Berry Crumbles with Fromage Blanc Ice Cream
  

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Fresh Apricot and Cherry Cobbler with Buttermilk Biscuit Crust

I love reading your comments on my blog every day. This recent one on my fresh apricot muffin post caught my eye. Lovely Ann of Redacted Recipes wrote: *sigh* Every time I read a new post of yours I fall into a geographical depression. Your apricots are so beautiful! And those muffins! I love the way each one coyly shows a little fruit... :-)

Though I had never heard of "geographical depression," I know what Ann means. I used to have it myself (though I referred to it less genteelly). Trust me, I don't post on these gems to make you depressed or envious; I do it because I get so ridiculously excited that I just have to share my finds. That's why I'm posting another picture of fresh farmers' market apricots and cherries.



When I saw that 20-foot-long table covered with plump, brilliant red cherries and velvety soft golden apricots I audibly gasped (hey, I wasn't the only one). Then I turned to Jeff and said something like, "I'm making an apricot and cherry pie when we get home! Or should I make a crumble? Ooh-ooh, I know, how about a cobbler?" See what I mean? Waaay too excited.



We decided on a cobbler. I wasn't sure what I wanted to use for the cobbler top, but I didn't have to search too long. My mom and dad had recently sent me Nick Malgieri's How to Bake. When my mom realized I didn't have his book, she was shocked:

"What?! How could you not have Nick Malgieri's book? I love his book! Well, that's it. Your father and I are going to Border's this weekend to get you one," she said.

"Mom you don't need to--" I started to say.

"Susan, listen to your mother," she said.

A week later, the book was in our mail box.

Though Malgieri's book isn't new, it's a treasure trove of classic dessert recipes. Considering that he is an award-winning author of 5 cookbooks and has been the director of the baking program at the Institute of Culinary Education in NYC for the last 12 years, I think he knows what he's talking about. I like the way he covers baking basics such as how to make flaky pie dough and perfect tarts and how he offers suggestions for variations (like Dorie Greenspan, whose book is a bible among food bloggers.)

So here is my mildly adapted version of Nick's Cobbler with Buttermilk Biscuit Crust. I made a spicier, sweeter fruit filling and cut out circles of biscuit dough for the top instead of making one solid crust.



This cobbler is a comforting, old-timey dessert. From the moment you smell the sweet buttermilk biscuit topping baking in the oven to the first taste of luscious, warm, sweet apricots and tangy cherries, you'll want to sit out on a rocking chair on your grandmother's porch and listen to her spin tales from her youth.

Fresh Apricot and Cherry Cobbler with Buttermilk Biscuit Crust
Makes 6-8 servings.
Print recipe only here.

Filling:
3 pounds ripe fresh apricots, about 15
1 cup pitted fresh cherries
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg, optional
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Buttermilk Biscuit Crust:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cake flour (I just used all-purpose flour)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
2/3 cups buttermilk

Glaze:
1 tablespoon buttermilk, cream, or milk
1 tablespoon sugar

Garnish:
2 tablespoons raw sugar crystals, for sprinkling on top

Place rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Use a 9 or 10-inch pie plate or a 1 1/2 quart deep oven-proof baking dish.

To make the filling, lightly cut an X on the bottom of each apricot and place them into a large pot of boiling water for about 30 seconds. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl of ice water. If the apricots are ripe, the skins will slip off easily. If not, then use a sharp paring knife to remove the skins. Cut each apricot into 5-6 wedges and place in the baking dish along with the pitted cherries.

Combine sugars, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg; pour over the fruit and stir gently. Add dots of butter all over the top of the filling. Set aside while preparing dough.

To make the crust, combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir well to combine. Cut the butter into 8 or 10 pieces and rub into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse meal (or pulse in a food processor fitted with a metal blade). Make a well in the center and add the buttermilk. Stir gently with a fork, being careful not to overwork the dough (or it will become leaden.) Let the dough stand in the bowl for a couple of minutes to let the flours absorb the liquid.

Flour a work surface and turn the dough onto it. Fold the dough over itself 2 or 3 times, until smoother and less sticky. Lightly re-flour the work surface and roll the dough to about 1/4-inch thickness. For circles, using the top of a drinking glass or a round cookie cutter, make about 12 rounds. Gently place the rounds on top of the filling, slightly overlapping the edges. Brush with glaze, and sprinkle with raw sugar crystals.

Alternatively, you could make a full top crust by rolling the dough out slightly larger than the size of your baking dish. Trim excess dough and flute the edges of the dough at the rim of the dish. Make 4 or 5 (1-inch) slashes in the center of the dough.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the crust is deep golden brown and filling is bubbling gently. (For easy clean-up, you may want to place a sheet of tinfoil on the rack under the baking dish to catch any drips.) Cool before serving. Cobbler is best served warm or at room temperature. It can be enjoyed plain or with some whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

You might also like these fruity desserts:

Coconut-Lime Rice Pudding with Mangoes and Cashews





Fresh Cherry and Peach Upside-Down Cake





Mini Custards with Limoncello-Spiked Raspberry Sauce




And, boy, do food bloggers love a good cobbler! You could stay busy all summer long with these:

• Abby's Blueberry Cobbler
  
• Alanna's Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler
• Elise's Plum Cobbler
  
• Glenna's Blackberry and Cherry Cobbler
  
• Kalyn's Peach and Berry Cobbler
  
• Karina's Vegan Blueberry Cobbler
• Matt's Peach and Raspberry Cobbler
  
• Simona's Cobbler di Fragole (Strawberry Cobbler)

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