Sour Cherry Oat Crisp

This was out of inspiration for something to do with my fresh sour cherries. Only got a few this year so wanted to make something really tasty! I think this did it. Very simple and can be adjusted to your needs if fresh sour cherries are not available, but I do not recommend using Bing or sweet red cherries for this. Use sour cherries in the can if you can find them. Enjoy! Refrigerate when completely cooled.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 1 hr 10 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 25 mins
• Calories: 492 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup butter, cut into small cubes
• 4 cups fresh sour cherries, pitted
• 1 (9 inch) prepared pastry for a single-crust pie
• 4 tablespoons cornstarch, or more as needed
• ⅔ cup rolled oats, or more to taste

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Line the bottom of an oven with aluminum foil to catch spills. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a 9-inch square baking dish with the pie crust.

Step 2

Place cherries in a bowl. Let sit in the refrigerator for about 4 hours until juices start to come out. Gently press down on top of the cherries to release juice. Pour off 3/4 cup juice, reserving cherries in the bowl.

Step 3

Pour juice into a small saucepan over medium heat. Mix sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon together. Stir mixture into the juice before it starts to steam. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and keep stirring until mixture starts to thicken, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in vanilla and almond extracts.

Step 4

Pour juice mixture into the bowl with the cherries; stir until combined. Pour mixture into the prepared crust.

Step 5

Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes while preparing the crumb topping.

Step 6

Mix brown sugar, flour, oats, cinnamon, and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in butter pieces with a fork until they're the size of small peas.

Step 7

Remove cherry pie from the oven. Top with the crumb topping and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cut a small hole in the center to help vent. Let cool, at least 1 hour. Serve warm.