It's that time of year again for us. There is plenty of fresh fruit available. We can find a nice selection at fruit stands, grocery stores, and in our backyard. Today I decided to try something a little different by making a plum dessert. This is my recipe for Plum Oatmeal Crisp. A little bit sweet, a little bit tart, and a lot delicious!
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This post was updated in July of 2021 with a few new photos.
We have several fruit trees. This year we didn't get many cherries, but we had a ton of apricots and plums. Next up will be the peaches!
I really have not worked with plums much, and this is the first plum recipe I have added to my site. We usually eat the plums just picked from the tree. This year we have way too many to do that. Hopefully, I will be able to add more plum recipes. I have a couple of ideas going through my mind already.
Not only are plums nutritious, but they are also pretty tasty. Although, the squirrels still seem to prefer to eat the apricots! I guess I will be making several plum desserts and other plum recipes.
Ingredients needed
To make this recipe for Plum Oatmeal Crisp you need,
- Plums
- Granulated sugar
- Lemon juice
- Cornstarch
- Cinnamon
- Old fashioned oats
- All-purpose flour
- Brown sugar
- Butter or margarine
How to prepare this recipe
First of all, get the plums ready. Rinse them off and let drain. Next, you need to cut them up into large bite-size pieces. I just cut around the pit. You need 6 cups of fruit, for us that was about 30 plums.
Here are the diced plums that I immediately coated with lemon juice. In the other bowl is the cornstarch, sugar, and cinnamon that I have mixed together. Add the sugar mixture to the plums and stir well to combine.
Coat a baking dish with non-stick spray and pour in the plum and sugar mixture. Now it is time to prepare the crumb topping.
Mix together the brown sugar, oatmeal, cinnamon, and flour. Add the butter or margarine that has been cut into pieces. Use a fork, pastry blender, or your hands to create the topping.
Sprinkle the topping over the plums and now the Plum Oatmeal Crisp is ready to bake. Place it in the oven for 35 - 45 minutes, until the plums are bubbly and the top is golden brown.
Let cool a bit before digging in. The longer you let it cool down the thicker it will be. But, when it is warm it is awesome with some vanilla ice cream or vanilla frozen yogurt.
Tips for using fresh fruit
- It's hard to predict the sweetness of fresh fruit until you taste it. Adjust the sugar to your liking. Especially if you prefer a sweeter plum dessert. On this particular batch of plums, some of them were sweet and some were tart. The finished product was a little tart, but I really like it that way myself.
- As with sweetness, it is also hard to predict how juicy the fruit will be until you start to cut into it. Likewise, you might need to adjust the amount of cornstarch you use to thicken it up. With this batch, I used 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, but I could have probably just as easily used 3.
- I store my crisp on the kitchen counter for the first day. However, if it is really hot weather, or longer than a day, I will keep it in the refrigerator. Use your best judgment. You can always warm up a serving in the microwave.
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Recipe
Plum Oatmeal Crisp
Ingredients
For the fruit base
- 6 cups Plums diced (about 30 medium plums)
- Lemon Juiced
- ⅓ cup Granulated sugar more or less to taste
- 3 tablespoons Cornstarch more if fruit is extra juicy
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
For the crisp topping
- 1 cup Old fashioned Oats
- ½ cup All-purpose flour
- ½ cup Brown sugar tightly packed
- ⅓ cup Butter or margarine
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
Instructions
- Wash the plums. Drain thoroughly.
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
To prepare the fruit
- Dice the plums into large bite-size pieces and carefully remove the pits. Place the plums in a medium-size mixing bowl. Squeeze the lemon juice over the plums and stir until completely coated.
- In a small bowl mix together the granulated sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon.
- Add the sugar mixture to the plums. Stir well to combine. Pour the plums into an 8 x 11 baking dish that has been coated with non-stick spray. Set aside.
To make the crisp topping
- Mix together the flour, brown sugar, oats, and cinnamon. Cut in the butter or margarine mixing completely.
- Sprinkle the crumble over the plums.
- Bake the Plum Oatmeal Crisp until bubbly and golden brown. 35 - 45 minutes.
- Cool slightly before serving.
Notes
- Let cool a bit before digging in. The longer you let it cool down the thicker it will be. But, when it is warm it is awesome with some vanilla ice cream or vanilla frozen yogurt.
Tips for using fresh fruit
- It’s hard to predict the sweetness of fresh fruit until you taste it. Adjust the sugar to your liking. Especially if you prefer a sweeter plum dessert. On this particular batch of plums, some of them were sweet and some were tart. The finished product was a little tart, but I really like it that way myself.
- As with sweetness, it is also hard to predict how juicy the fruit will be until you start to cut into it. Likewise, you might need to adjust the amount of cornstarch you use to thicken it up. With this batch, I used 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, but I could have probably just as easily used 3.
- I store my crisp on the kitchen counter for the first day. However, if it is really hot weather, or longer than a day, I will keep it in the refrigerator. Use your best judgment. You can always warm up a serving in the microwave.
Maryse Beeney
I have never eaten or made a dessert with plums. Tried this one and it was great. Had people over and everyone raved about it. Will be making it again.
Tori
Wonderful and easy recipe. I’d bought too many Ontario local plums, and this was a great way to use them up. I halved the recipe so I cut up 15 plums. The cornstarch makes this recipe so lovely and jammy, I’m also looking forward to trying it cold!
Barbie
Hands down fantastic Plum Crisp.
Keri Hix
Thank you!
Lisa capell
Great dessert, but just wanted to point out a mistake in topping instructions. It didn’t throw me but it could someone. In the topping instructions you said combine flour, cornstarch, cinnamon and sugar then cut in the butter. Should have said oats, not corn starch!
Thanks again for this recipe tho, very good!
Cook This Again Mom
Thank you so much! I fixed the error! I had it right in one spot and wrong on the recipe card. I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks again!