Fresh from the Farm

My friend and former co-worker, Heidi, comes from a family of farmers. I knew when she brought in an olallieberry crisp for breakfast on her first day of work that we would be fast friends. Heidi was kind enough to share her family recipe for the crisp, which can be used for all sorts of fruits. I love making it with mixed berries during the summer but I’ve also used it for peaches and apricots.

This is my adaptation of her recipe. I used a two pound mix of Pink Lady and Granny Smith apples, cored, peeled, and sliced.

Farmer's Crisp

Crisp Topping

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 egg, beaten

Filling

5-6 cups fruit

1/2 cup sugar* (see note below)

2 tablespoons flour

6 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Topping: Put flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in medium mixing bowl and stir together. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add beaten egg and stir in mixture with a fork. Mixture should be crumbly.

Filling: Put the fruit in a large bowl. Stir in the flour and sugar; add the fruit and lightly toss the fruit to coat. Spoon coated fruit into an 8 by 8-inch baking dish and sprinkle the crisp mixture on top. Drizzle the melted butter evenly over the crisp mixture. Bake approximately 40 minutes or until top is golden brown.

*If you are using very tart fruit, like blackberries or olallieberries, increase the sugar in the fruit filling to 3/4 cup.

Spoiler Alert: I'm a Perfectionist

Who’s the brunette version of Goldilocks? I’m on my third rendition of an olallieberry pie; the first one was too tart, the second one was too sweet, but this one is just right!

I started off with Martha Stewart’s pate brisee recipe (cut in half for one crust because I prefer a streusel topping).  

Pie Filling:

5 cups olallieberries, rinsed and well drained

1/3 cup flour

1 1/4 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Put berries in a medium bowl and cover with flour and sugar; stir gently to coat. Let filling sit for about 20 minutes to allow berries to release juice, stirring occasionally. While berries are sitting, prepare crumble topping. When berries are ready, pour into uncooked pie shell and top with crumble mix.

Streusel Topping:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 Tbsp. packed brown sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes then cover edges of pie with foil.  Lower heat to 375 degrees and bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until crust is nicely browned. 

Summer is Berry Pickin' Time

Nothing brings back happy childhood memories like the smell of a pie baking in the oven.  

I must have been feeling nostalgic because I recently made the trek to Pescadero to visit Phipps Country Farm to pick fresh olallieberries.   

Phipps is one of my favorite places to visit on a warm summer day (and very kid-friendly, too)!  In addition to row after row of juicy berries, they also have peacocks, chickens, and other farm animals for the kiddos to see.  

You can pick either strawberries or olallieberries during the summer months.  There is a nominal entrance fee ($3 per adult) and the berries are delicious and inexpensive (olallieberries were $3 per pound).  

I’ll let you know once I perfect my recipe...


For more information about Phipps, check them out at http://www.phippscountry.com/