We had some over-ripe nectarines and yet more red cherries. I couldn't possibly waste good fruit! And then I had an idea. A sticky idea. A mess, sticky, healthy(ish) dessert idea. So here we go...
Sara's Summer Throw-Together Cobbler
4 over-ripe nectarines, pitted and cut into small pieces
2 cups red cherries, pitted and cut in half
2 tbsp good Balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp honey (I use sugar free. It tastes fine.)
2 and 1/2 tsp good vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon plus 1/4 tsp to sprinkle on top
4 tbsp real salted butter (told you it was only healthyish)
1/8 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup Accidental Almond Granola (the cookie part of French Almond Cookies for macaron, crumbled into bits) or any granola, granola-based cereal, etc. A pack of instant cinnamon oatmeal would probably work too.
4 graham crackers, crushed into fine crumbs
Here's how it happens:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Pit and chop the fruit and add to a heavy bottom sauce pan. Begin a slow boil over medium high heat. You may want to start lower and turn up the temp as needed if you're dealing with a gas stove.
- Add the next four ingredients and bring to a bubbly boil uncovered for about 5 minutes. Even though these are summer fruits, your house will suddenly smell like Christmas. Bonus!
- Melt two tbsp of the butter in the bottom of a square glass baking dish. Add the remaining two tbsp of butter to the fruit mixture and stir until it melts.
- Remove the fruit mixture from the heat source and mash gently with a potato masher.
Pour into the baking dish. It will be thin enough to spread itself out evenly. - Combine 1/2 cup of granola/almond cookie mixture and 1/8 cup of brown sugar. Spread mixture evenly over fruit in baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon.
- Place in the prepared oven for 20 minutes. Check to see if it's bubbling yet. Leave in oven for 15 more minutes for a combined 35 minutes of bake time. It should be bubbling from the bottom when you remove it from the oven.
- Crush graham crackers in a Ziploc bag with a rolling pin. Separate crumbs into the bottom of four ungreased ceramic ramekins. If you don't have ramekins, place the graham crackers in the baking dish before pouring in the fruit. I prefer the crumbs not to be baked so that they retain some of their grainy crunch.
- Separate the bubbling fruit mixture into the four ramekins. Enjoy! It's nice with Lady Grey tea.
For all you neat freaks out there (cough, cough), you're going to want to soak the dishes as soon as you're finished serving/eating. This stuff turns to berry glue. Again, this was just a throw together dessert, so I wasn't really prepared. Next time, I'd love to have some vanilla ice cream on hand, Greek yogurt with a little honey or maybe throw some heavy whipping cream, vanilla and cinnamon in the stand mixer and make a fresh dollop of whipped cream to top off this brightly colored treat. Also, this would be good with LOTS of fruits and most certainly year round. I'm just glad to have found a
This is the first recipe I've written down, so please feel free to make comments or suggestions. I've got a couple of more that I've just been winging, so be on the look-out for some more originals. I appreciate your editorial prowess.
Sweet (and maybe slightly spicy) Wishes,
Sara
