Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp (Baking with Dorie)

There's an unspoken rule about desserts in my household. It goes like this: Don't Serve Anything Without Chocolate.

I don't dare serve fruit desserts to my children for fear of being stoned. There is a certain truth to their arguments. When you're eating dessert, you want decadence. Richness. Amazingness.

I love fruit. Very much. But I'll admit that it is rarely decadent. So how did I get away with making this here crisp as a dessert? Simple. I made it on an ordinary weeknight, when the kids don't feel they are 'entitled' to dessert. (I NEVER serve dessert during the week with the exception of birthdays.)

With that mind-set, my children were the very willing consumers of this lovely crisp. And I learned that a fruit desserts is a great way to add some fun to an ordinary week!

Strawberry Rhubarb Double Crisp, adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours
The original recipe calls for more sugar than this, but I found it overly sweet. My kids, on the other hand, were perfectly happy with the original quantities. Use a full cup of sugar in the filling (instead of 3/4) if you want a sweeter version. I also substituted pecans for the walnuts, and fresh grated ginger for crystallized and ground ginger. 

TOPPING AND CRUST
1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
Pinch of salt
Pinch of cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 stick butter, melted

FILLING
5 stalks rhubarb, trimmed, peeled, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water
3 cups (about 12 ounces) strawberries, hulled and sliced
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350*.

Now, make the topping and crust. Mix together all of the TOPPING AND CRUST  ingredients besides the butter. Add the melted butter and then use a fork to stir the ingredients will well combined.

Spoon half of the mixture into a round pie plate and pat it down to form a crust.

Next, make the filling. Spread the rhubarb over the crust in the pan. Dissolve the cornstarch in water and set it aside.

Combine the strawberries, sugar and ginger in a medium pot and heat gently, over medium-low heat. As it heats up, use a fork or potato masher to gently mash the berries and release some of their juices. When the mixture comes to a full boil, pour in the dissolved cornstarch and stir with a whisk while returning to a boil. Let the mixture cook for just a couple of minutes till it's thick and the cornstarch is well combined. Stir in the vanilla.

Pour the berry mixture over the rhubarb as evenly as you can. Scatter the remaining TOPPING AND CRUST mix evenly over the filling.

Bake for about an hour, until the topping is golden and the filling is bubbling. Cool for at least 15 minutes, or longer. (The crisp is also wonderful as leftovers. We enjoyed ours all week!)

Linking this up to Weekend Bloggy Reading, Yummy Mummy, Bizzy Bakes, Sweet Tooth Friday, and Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms.

Read my fellow bloggers' posts over at Baking with Dorie!