Individual Fruit Crisps with Cinnamon-Vanilla Ice Cream

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Servings:
6

This recipe makes three peach and three cherry crisps. It's perfect for turning bruised summer fruit into lush dessert.

Ingredients

  • 2 pints vanilla ice cream, softened slightly

  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

  • 3 large peaches (about 1 ¼ pounds)

  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

  • 1 cup packed dark-brown sugar

  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger

  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch

  • 3 cups sour cherries (about 14 ounces), pitted

  • ½ cup yellow cornmeal

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour

  • ½ teaspoon baking powder

  • Pinch of salt

  • ¼ cup granulated sugar

  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

  • ½ cup sliced blanched almonds (1 ½ ounces), toasted

Directions

  1. Make cinnamon-vanilla ice cream: Cover the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish with one-third of ice cream; smooth into an even layer. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Repeat to make two more ice-cream layers, sprinkling each with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Cover with plastic wrap, and freeze until ready to use, at least 45 minutes.

  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Cut a small, shallow X in the bottom of each peach. Blanch peaches until skins begin to loosen, about 30 seconds; drain. Peel and pit peaches, and then cut into 1/4-inch-thick wedges. Transfer to a bowl; toss with 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1/4 cup brown sugar, the ginger, and 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Set aside.

  3. Put cherries in a bowl; toss with 1/2 cup brown sugar and remaining tablespoons lemon juice and cornstarch.

  4. Whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar, and the granulated sugar in a medium bowl. Blend in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until it resembles coarse meal. Stir in almonds. Squeeze to form a crumbly topping.

  5. Fill six mini foil pie plates (each 4 1/2 inches in diameter and 1 1/4 inches high) with fruit, three with cherry mixture and three with peach mixture. Transfer to rimmed baking sheets; divide topping among fruit pies. Bake until juices are bubbling, about 30 minutes. Let crisps cool slightly; serve warm with scoops of cinnamon-vanilla ice cream.

Cook's Notes

We call for fresh cherries, but frozen ones will work just as well. For the latter, you'll need to adjust amounts in step three: Reduce the brown sugar to one-third cup and increase the cornstarch to two tablespoons.

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