Have you ever looked at a beautiful display of fruit at the farmers' market and kept on walking because you didn't know what to do with it? Maybe you don't like snacking on fruit, or perhaps you're in the "apples and bananas" club. You know, where you only eat apples and bananas because they're familiar and they're available t the supermarket all year long. Whatever the reason for your seasonal fruit resistance, these simple, fruit-based dessert recipes are sure to turn you into a true fan of all the glorious fruit that summer has to offer.
Simple Peach Crisp
First, spray an 8x8 pan with nonstick cooking spray or grease it with butter. Lay about four cups of peach slices in the pan. You'll have more than a single layer. In a mixing bowl, combine half a cup each of brown sugar, flour, and cold butter cut into pieces. Add a teaspoon or so of cinnamon and a pinch of salt, and blend with two forks, a pastry blender, or the paddle attachment of a stand mixer until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in a cup of rolled oats, and pour over the peaches in the pan. Bake in a medium-hot oven (around 350 degrees) for 30 minutes.
Easy Berry Compote
"Compote" sounds so fancy and complicated, doesn't it? What it actually is, though, is a syrupy, sweet fruit stew. Also, it's delicious. The best part is, a compote is extremely simple to make with whatever fruit you have on hand (even if it's in a can). To make a compote from fresh berries, melt a half a stick of butter over low heat in a medium saucepan. Add a couple of squeezes of fresh lemon juice and a quarter cup of brown sugar, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Next, add three-quarters of a pound of berries (about three cups), and simmer and stir for a few minutes. Once the berries start to soften, take the pot off the heat. Serve the compote warm over yogurt, ice cream, pound cake, waffles, or whatever else sounds good to you.
Miniature Cherry Pies
For this recipe, you need a muffin tin and some store-bought pie crust. If you want to simplify the process even more, you can use canned cherry pie filling. To make the filling from scratch, though, mix a quarter cup of cornstarch with a half cup of cold water. Next, combine two pounds of pitted cherries (around five cups), a half cup of sugar, a splash of lemon juice and the cornstarch mixture in a medium saucepan. Stir and cook over low heat for about 15 minutes. While the pie filling cooks, unroll your pie crust and use a biscuit cutter (or the rim of a drinking glass) to cut several rounds of crust. Press them into the cups of your greased muffin tin. When the pie filling is done, spoon it into the tiny pie crusts and then create lattice tops with the remaining scraps of crust. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for around 25 minutes.
These desserts are so delicious and so pretty that they're good enough for company. On the other hand, they're so simple and so fresh that they're also perfect for weeknights with the family. Once you've tried them, you'll never be intimidated by a summer fruit stand again!