Plum Crisp or Plum Pie

Makes one crisp or one 9” pie

“Luscious” is the only word I can find to describe this. Other fruits tend to hold their own in a crisp or pie, but plums MELD with other ingredients. It’s magical. And sweet, oh, my, yes, swe-e-e-et (even without a ton of sugar). Perfect by itself or add a dollop of whipped cream, ice cream, or my favorite- sour cream or creme fraiche.  

This recipe makes either a pie or crisp. If making crisp to put into the freezer make it directly in a 9-1/2 x 7-1/2” (or 2-3/4 qt.) glass pan made for freezing (these come with a plastic tight-fitting lid). Other baking pans of similar size may be used to bake a crisp.   

For pie only:

One 9” whole wheat pie shell

Filling:

6 cups unpeeled Stanley or “prune” plums, pitted and quartered

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 cup honey

(1/4 cup whole wheat flour- for pie only)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

Topping:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 cup cold butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Make the filling: Place plums in a large bowl, and drizzle with the lemon juice. Add remaining filling ingredients and toss. (Note: flour is only needed for making pie).

Make the topping: Place the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a medium size bowl. Mix with a fork. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. 

Place the filling mixture into a baking pan if making crisp, or into the prepared pie shell for pie. Sprinkle the topping over the pie or crisp.  

Bake crisp for 40 - 45 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Bake pie for 50 - 60 minutes until bubbly and golden brown. You may want to set a baking sheet under the pie. Plums can be very bubbly! -jmm