Sweet Cherry Crisp

If strawberries herald in the start of summer around here, nothing says midsummer to me like a bowl full of cherries.

Sweet cherries, to be precise.

Often, dessert recipes that call for cherries mean sour cherries, like what I'd use to make a delicious tart cherry pie. But sweet cherries deserve their due. They're really good for you, and don't require as much sugar as sour cherries do.

I found this recipe for cherry crisp in the Reader's Digest Fight Back With Food recipe book, and with a little tweaking, I made it my own.

Here's how.


Sweet Cherry Crisp
Ingredients

• 2 pounds fresh sweet cherries
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 and 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 6 tablespoons salted butter at room temperature

Method

Wash and pit the cherries. A cherry pitter is exceedingly helpful in this.

Add the sugar, cornstarch, salt, spices, and lemon juice, stir to coat evenly, and let it sit and macerate while you make the topping.

In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, and butter. You may have to work it together by hand. Just roll up your sleeves and get your hands in there.

Pour the cherries into a baking dish. Sprinkle the oat topping evenly to cover the top. Bake on 400 degrees for 25 minutes, or until the topping is nicely browned and the cherries are bubbling.

Serve it up warm!