Apricot Breakfast Crisp

Another wonderful recipe from one of my new favorite cookbooks. As I mentioned before, I will slowly but surely cook my way through this beautiful book! 

I grew up eating my mom's peach cobbler for breakfast, and didn't know until recently that it's normally considered a dessert (thanks mom for letting me have "dessert" for breakfast!). Cobbler can be breakfast food, and so can crisps! 

I was very excited to see apricots on sale for $.99/pound at the store (along with peaches and nectarines...I think I may need a peach pie..mmm), and knew this was how I would use them. I love that this recipe doesn't yield a huge amount, maybe 2-3 cups of cobbler, which is ideal when your baking for only one or two people. You could also use different fruits depending on what's in season (fruits like apples and pears should be cut into smaller pieces, and baked for maybe 45 minutes or so...cover with foil to prevent overcooking the topping). Olive oil or coconut oil can be used in place of the butter, different nuts can be used, and I think I may even add ground flax seed next time to add a little o-mega 3's! For now though, I'll enjoy this apricot version. After my first bite, I literally said out loud "oh yeah...going on the blog." I was on the phone with my bestie...she can confirm this. Be warned however, if your apricots aren't ripe this will be super tart. I *ahem* had two servings, and while the first was perfect, the second was on the tart side (which I didn't mind). Served with plain Greek yogurt and a drizzle of honey, it made a wonderful breakfast! I'm also thinking about trying it for dessert later with a little butter pecan ice cream. I love summer...sigh.

Apricot Breakfast Crisp

Ingredients

Fruit

1 pound apricots

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Pinch of nutmeg

Topping

4 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup sugar (I used light brown sugar..num!)

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (or a mixture of all-purpose and whole wheat)

Good pinch of salt

2 tablespoons sliced or chopped almonds

Yogurt of choice to serve (I used plain Greek yogurt with a little honey)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400F, and prepare the fruit. Pull apart the apricots at their seam, remove the pits, and tear them on e more time into quarters (so fun!). Place the fruit in a small baking dish (Deb suggests a 1-quart gratin dish, I just used a small casserole pan). Stir in the sugar, flour, and nutmeg.

Now, make the topping. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, and stir in first the sugar, then the oats, then the flour, and finally the salt and almonds, until large clumps form. Sprinkle the mixture over the fruit. Bake for about 30 minutes. Eat warm or chilled, with a scoop of your favorite yogurt. Maybe even ice cream? :)

**Update: a sprinkle of cinnamon on top of the yogurt is simply divine!

Recipe Source: adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook.