Cherry Peach Crumble

I love it when y’all send me recipes. This one came from a viewer named David down in Georgia, and I want to tell you how it came together, because I think it’s the best kind of recipe story.

His family was making peach pie and really enjoying it. Then he saw something somewhere about adding cherries to a peach pie, so they started doing that. And then somewhere along the line they got more into making crisps and crumbles, so they took the crust away entirely and put a crumble topping on instead. They tweaked it and tweaked it, and this year, this is what they ended up with. And they loved it.

That’s How the Best Recipes Happen

Nobody sits down and invents a family recipe. You just keep changing one small thing until one day it’s yours. That’s exactly what David did, and when he sent it in, I was excited to try it.

There’s one more thing that made this one feel like it was meant for us. David is from Georgia. My papa used to call my mama his Georgia peach, because that’s where she was from. So when a Georgia peach recipe shows up in my inbox, well. I’m going to make it.

Why I Used Frozen Fruit

David’s original recipe calls for fresh fruit, and if peaches and cherries are in season where you are, please go get them. That will be delicious. But I wanted to make it a different way on purpose, and here’s why.

They pick frozen fruit when it’s at its absolute peak, so the taste is sweet and good. That means you can make this in the middle of winter, when there’s not a fresh peach to be found within a hundred miles, and it will still taste like summer. It’s quick, it’s easy, and you’re not standing at the counter peeling and pitting anything. I just tweaked David’s recipe that little bit.

And I’ll tell you something funny. When I told Darren what we were making, he said the jury was still out. He likes peaches. He likes cherries. But he likes his pie, and he wasn’t sure about giving up a crust for a crumble topping. You can guess how that went. He got one bite and told me he wasn’t exactly expecting that, but it was really good.

My Tips for This Crumble

Don’t skip the cardamom. This is the whole thing. Cinnamon alone would make a perfectly nice crumble, but the cardamom is what makes it taste like somebody who knew what they were doing made it.

Cold butter, grated. Warm butter turns your crumble into a paste. Straight from the refrigerator on the large holes of a box grater gives you an even topping with no work at all. I’ve got a little handheld grater that sits right down in the bowl. It’s really old, but it works wonderful.

Don’t thaw the frozen fruit. Go straight from the bag to the bowl. Just add those extra five to ten minutes of bake time.

Set it on a sheet pan. Depending on your dish size, this can come up high. A pan underneath catches anything that bubbles over, and if it doesn’t bubble over, you’ve lost nothing.

Let it rest. Ten to fifteen minutes before you dig in. I know that’s the really hard part. But it needs that time to set up, and it’s worth it.

How to Make Cherry Peach Crumble

Here’s the full recipe with everything you need. If you’d rather watch me make it, the video is right here on the page too.

Questions You Might Have

What’s the difference between a crumble, a crisp, and a cobbler? A crumble has a topping of flour, sugar, and butter. A crisp adds oats to that topping for extra crunch. A cobbler has a biscuit or batter topping dropped over the fruit instead. This one technically has oats in it, so you could call it a crisp, but David called it a crumble and I’m sticking with his name.

Can I use canned peaches? You can, but drain them well and cut the sugar down to about a quarter cup, since canned peaches are usually packed in syrup. The texture will be softer than frozen or fresh.

Can I make it ahead? Yes, two ways. Mix the crumble topping and keep it in a bag in the refrigerator up to three days or the freezer for a month. Or assemble the whole thing, cover it, refrigerate overnight, and bake the next day with about ten extra minutes.

Why is my crumble soggy on top? Usually that’s warm butter or too much fruit juice. Make sure your butter is cold when you grate it in, and don’t skip that tablespoon of flour in the fruit. It’s doing real work.

What size dish should I use? David’s recipe calls for a 9×9-inch dish. I used an oval casserole dish about that same size and it worked great. Anything with roughly the same volume will do.

Can I substitute the cardamom? If you don’t have it, nutmeg is your closest option, or a pinch of allspice. It won’t taste the same, but it’ll still be good. I’d encourage you to try the cardamom at least once.

Can I make this gluten free? Yes. Swap in a one-to-one gluten free flour blend for both the filling and the topping, and use certified gluten free oats.

Sweet cherries or tart? Sweet cherries are what David uses and what I’d recommend. If all you can find is tart cherries, add another two or three tablespoons of sugar to the fruit.

How do I store leftovers? Cover it and keep it in the refrigerator up to four days. You can microwave a single serving, but if you want the topping crisp again, put the whole dish back in a 350°F oven for about 15 minutes.

From Your Kitchen to Ours

David, thank you so much for sending this in. We really enjoyed giving your recipe a try in the kitchen, and it’s going in our regular rotation. My mother-in-law loves cherries, so she’s getting a bowl of this too.

If you’ve got a recipe that’s been in your family, or one you’ve kept tweaking until it turned into your own, we would love to see it. Email it to us at mk@marykatherinestable.com, or fill out the recipe submission form.

I hope you’ll give this one a try. It was really good, and we sure enjoyed it.

Remember to go out today and find somebody who needs a little bit of kindness and give them some of yours.

Cherry Peach Crumble

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A viewer’s peach pie with the crust taken off and a buttery oat crumble put on top. Cherries and cardamom make it taste like more than the sum of its parts, and because it works with frozen fruit, you can make it any month of the year.

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Rest Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 25 minutes minutes

Serving Size 8 servings

Ingredients

Fruit Filling

• 4 cups frozen peaches
• 2 cups frozen sweet cherries sliced in half
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cardamom

Crumble Topping

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
• 3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter 1 stick, cold

Instructions

Make the Filling

• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9×9-inch baking dish or one of similar size.
• Slice the frozen cherries in half so they are more bite-sized, and add them to a large bowl with the frozen peaches.
• Add the lemon juice, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and cardamom to the fruit. The tablespoon of flour is there to soak up the juices that release while it bakes.
• Stir until everything is coated, then set the bowl aside while you make the topping. The fruit will start releasing its juices as it sits, and that is exactly what you want.

Make the Crumble Topping

• In a second bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, oats, salt, and cinnamon until the dry ingredients are well mixed. Do not fuss over leveling your measurements with a crumble; it does not have to be exact.
• Grate the cold butter directly into the bowl on the large holes of a box grater. You can cube it and cut it in instead, but grating is faster and gives you an even crumble.
• Sprinkle a little of the flour and oat mixture over the grated butter so it does not clump, then stir until the mixture holds together in small pea-sized chunks.

Bake and Serve

• Pour the fruit and all its juices into the prepared dish and spread it out evenly.
• Scatter the crumble topping over the fruit, covering it all the way to the edges.
• Set the dish on a sheet pan to catch any drips, and bake at 375°F for 40 to 45 minutes. If you started with frozen fruit, give it closer to 50 minutes so it cooks all the way through. It is ready when the top is golden and the edges are bubbling.
• Let it sit 10 to 15 minutes before serving so it can set up. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Video

Notes

• Fresh fruit works beautifully here and is how David originally made it. Use 4 cups sliced fresh peaches and 2 cups pitted, halved fresh cherries, and start checking at 40 minutes since fresh fruit bakes faster.
• No need to thaw the frozen fruit first. It is picked at its peak, so this tastes like summer even in the dead of winter. Just add the extra baking time.
• Cardamom is the ingredient that makes people ask what is in it. Do not leave it out.
• If you love cinnamon, add a little extra to the topping. A crumble is forgiving that way.
• Grate the butter straight from the refrigerator. Warm butter turns the topping into a paste instead of pea-sized crumbs.
• Set the dish on a sheet pan before it goes in the oven. This one comes up high, and the pan catches anything that bubbles over.
• Leftovers keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Warm individual servings in the microwave, or reheat the whole dish at 350°F for about 15 minutes to bring the topping back to life.
• Recipe submitted by David from Georgia as part of our From Your Kitchen to Ours series.

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