Fall Fruit Crisp

Fall was in the air this weekend and I spent Sunday doing what I love to do while the guys are watching football - stuff their faces - I mean baking, hahaha.  We scored lot of beautiful fruit at the local market so I decided to make a crisp for dessert.  This recipe is fairly healthy so it also works great to pack in lunches as a side dish or healthy dessert option.  

I know a lot of crisp recipes call for the fruit to be coated or cooked with sugar and flour and other goo before being baked but I have found that to be unnecessary unless you are working only with really watery fruit like berries.  If you are leaving the skin on the fruit, most fruit skin contains a natural pectin that will thicken as the fruit cooks down.  I prefer to work with a mix of fruit because I think that gives the best natural sweetness and balance of textures.  For this particular crisp I used 2 peaches, 2 plums, 1 large apple and 2 pears (2 different kinds).  I diced all the fruit in a fairly consistent size and mixed well.  I placed all the fruit into a large 13x9x2 glass baking dish.  I did not grease mine but if you want to make cleanup a little easier you can lightly grease or butter the sides only.  The fruit has enough natural moisture that it will not stick to the bottom.  The only parts that will stick is where your topping bakes against the side.

In a large mixing bowl, I combined 1 stick of butter, 2 cups rolled oats, 1/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.  Using a knife and fork, I cut the butter into the dry mixture until the pieces were pea-sized.  Then I distributed this mix evenly over the top of the fruit.  I baked at 350 degrees about 25-30 minutes or until the fruit is softened and well cooked and the crust is crisp and lightly brown around the edges.  Best served warm.