[Just add yogurt.]
Breakfast Apricot Crisp
Apricots, especially these early-season ones I picked up, are a bright and tiny bunch. The first time I made this it was so tart, I thought it was borderline caustic. The second time, I tripled the sugar in the fruit from one tablespoon to three and ended up with something that was… also crazy tart.
But then, like magic, I chilled it in the fridge where its acidity mellowed and it’s flavors came together and the next morning, with a scoop of plain yogurt, I was in breakfast nirvana.
As for putting this together, it couldn’t be easier. Trust me, there is nothing more fun than a crisp you have made with fruit you tore apart with your bare hands. Heck, you could even mix the topping with your fingers, if you’re feeling that rustic.
Fruit Base
1 pound apricots
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon flour
Grated fresh nutmeg, a pinch
Crisp Topping
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons, 2 ounces) butter, melted
6 tablespoons turbinado or regular sugar (turbinado, also sold as Sugar in the Raw, gives an excellent crunch)
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (or a mixture of whole wheat and all-purpose flour)
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons sliced almonds
Prepare fruit: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pull apart apricots at their seam, remove pits, and tear them one more time into quarters, placing them in a small baking dish (one that holds two to three cups is ideal). Stir in sugar, flour and pinch of nutmeg.
Make topping: Melt butter and stir in sugar, then oats, then flour, salt and almonds until large clumps form. Sprinkle mixture over the fruit. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes and serve warm.
Although you could dust this with powdered sugar and serve it warm with vanilla ice cream for dessert, as I noted, it is on the tart side for an after-dinner treat. Truly, this excels cooled in the fridge overnight, and mixed with a scoop of plain yogurt for a weekday breakfast that will cure you of all weekday breakfast doldrums. It sure did for me.
It looks a bit like crumble, and that has to be one of my all time favourite desserts, hell if I could have that for breakfast every day I wouldn’t mind getting out of bed nearly so much. Hmmmm!
This looks splendid and very tasty!
Crumble for breakfast *sounded* kinda decadent but I see what you mean, they’re actually all typical breakfast ingredients.
This is my kind of breakfast! And all you have to do in the morning is open the fridge. Perfect!
Drool……
Looks delicious! Time to go buy some apricots… :-)
it’s a better take on breakfast that my sturdy but boring oatmeal w/ cinnamon and bananas. I might just eat this by itself though, since yogurt now costs an arm and a leg. bye bye my lovely fage yogurt :(
Tell me your secret, Debs, really. How do you make the simplest things look so good that I flail at my computer screen for ten minutes before beginning my plots to set up residence under the Smitten kitchen table? I am house-trained, and will eat all your scraps. You’ll never know I’m there, I promise.
Heh… I saw your pictures and immediately headed for the kitchen to eat a few newly purchased apricots. I’m going to have to give this recipe a try (if I don’t eat all the fruit by the end of the day!)
What I love about this post is that your visual story telling. It’s a culinary picture book for the food obsessed reader.
Your pictures tell the beginning, middle and end of this dish’s story…And then, I make a quick skim read of the actual recipe (to see if I’ve missed any of the important bits) and I’m off! To the kitchen I gooooo!
Thank you so much,
Brooke
I’m not a big fan of apricots. Could I use peaches?
Oooh! This looks perfect for a hot summer day…kind of like we’re having here in NYC. I agree with Brook (commenter #9) about the photography here. It’s awesome. I’m totally nominating you for the “E Is for Excellence” blog award!
Do you think macerating the apricots with a bit of the called-for sugar would cut down on the acidity and bring up the sweetness a bit? Maybe I’ll give that a shot.
Thanks for the recipe and the gorgeous photos!!
Deb–I am in love with your site and your cooking–it’s similar to my own obsession of food (including being a vegetarian until marrying a carnivore and creating an omnivore-ish marriage), except I’m not as clever, I live in the middle of nowhere Indiana, and even if I were to take pictures of my food, it would never be so lovely.
Anyway, I’ve been meaning to mention to you two websites that I think you NEED to check out. I lived in Scotland for two years and found two amazing British recipe sites that will just make you drool (and perhaps even think that Epicurious is not measuring up). First: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food which publishes all the BBC cooking show recipes. These can be spotty sometimes as chefs are creating new recipes weekly and there is no rating system, but there are some amazing gems there. And, my personal favorite out of all food websites: http://www.waitrose.co.uk . It’s an upscale food store in the UK and I have never tried a recipe on there that is not just a sliver (or huge piece) of heaven. You at least have to go to the latter. And now I’ve given you all my secrets, but I thought you needed to know. I mean, we never really need hundreds of more recipes bookmarked on our browser, but then again, I don’t think you can ever have to many, right?!
Cheers!
What a great idea! They look really good!
This looks so yummy. Could it also be a dessert? Or is it not sweet enough? I made the big crumb coffee cake this morning but with blueberries. It was amazing. my markets out here in CA have yet to produce any rhubarb.
I’m going to have to run to the market for apricots in the morning. My mouth is WATERING! I will use Splenda since my husband is a diabetic and real careful with his diet. I’m sure it will be just fine. I’ll let you know.
I simply cannot wait to make this!
Now that’s my kind of breakfast!
What a creative breakfast idea! It looks absolutely delicious! I’ve been finding gorgeous plump California apricots here lately. They would be just perfect for this.
Looks delicious. I love a healthy, hearty – but also sweet – breakfast. Love that pic of the turbinado.
Hi, just found your blog and I must admit that it’s a feast for the eyes (especially before breakfast!). I will visit often and have added you to my favs! Thanks for the visual delights.
Tora in Chagrin Falls, OH
amanda, fage yogurt is just regular yogurt with the water drained out – get a sieve and some thin cotton cloth or some cheesecloth.
or, make yogurt yourself – very easy, very little work – use lowfat not nonfat milk for more substance, and add milk powder, then do the draining again.
never waste your money on the fage brand….
This looks lovely. I love the idea of dessert for breakfast! I am not a huge fan of apricots, but I am sure other fruits would be good as well.
I was wondering what to do with all of the apricots we recieved yesterday… Saw this last night in my selection of blogs I subscribe to and thought wow she must have read my mind! Thankyou… It’s in the oven… :)
Shilpa – I think FAGE yogurt also uses some cream in their formula. There’s something about the exact ratio of milk/cream and the cultures they’ve got going – I’ve never been able to duplicate it exactly : (
First of all, those pictures of apricots almost got me to run out of my airconditioned paradise and into the inferno to buy some. They look so.darn.good.
Secondly, as to Fage… my parents love it, but it is very expensive, so they bought a yogurt maker (really just a plastic box with a fine mesh screen) and make their own version starting with plain, store-brand yogurt- not exactly cheap these days, but more so than Fage. It’s actually remarkably similar, in both taste and texture! They use non-fat, but I’m sure it would be better with lowfat.
Mmmm, that granola looks really nice and crispy. I’d bake that alone so I could sprinke it on any kind of fruit.
I bought some ‘cots the other day that were in a plastic pkg. BIG mistake. When cut, they were way under ripe. (and I live in CA and know better..what WAS I thinking?) I ended up cooking them down to a saucy jam and had to include a can of ‘cots to sweeten it and sauce it up some more. They really needed the canned and the sugar. NEVER do that again..sheesh.
I love fruit crisps in the summer! And I’ll take any excuse to have dessert for breakfast.
Mmmmm this sounds like it’s a great twist on traditional crisps. I like the idea of pairing it with yogurt. I will be trying this!
Yummy looking granola. I keep promising myself I’ll make some, and never get around to it. I know those apricots are pushing me to get it done. I’m a sucker for them.
dessert for breakfast? sign me up.
must go to greenmarket, search out apricots.
Apricots are amazing and so is your crisp. I’m so glad it’s apricot season!
My kind of breakfast!
You’ve been tagged…see my blog for details. :-)
Oh, I love the idea of having apricot crumble for breakfast! I have some amazing Greek yoghurt in the fridge that is just crying out for some apricot crisp to go with it….
OMG those pictures are glorious! I want to run out and buy apricots right now. (my boss will understand, right?)
I simply cannot get enough fresh apricots right now, since they’re at their peak – what a wonderful way to enjoy apricots, with that scrumptious crisp!!
I just made strawberry rhubarb crisp because I was inspired by your use of rhubarb from a previous post. My husband loves all crisps/crumbles, but with all that butter this would be a dangerous breakfast for us to have around the house. Looks amazing though. Our apricots arent really seasonal yet in Chicago, so they are just sad and little and not fragrant at all. I’m a bit jealous of how great yours look.
It’s like dessert for breakfast! Amazing! I love all the pictures of apricots. They’re one of my favorite summer fruits. This breakfast would even be lovely with a few fresh pitted cherries thrown into the apricot mix. Oh the possibilities!
I can’t do much to claim locavore status [you will take my coffee and chocolate and lemons from me when you pry them from my cold dead hands, for example] but one thing I’ll say about apricots, of which I am passionately fond, is that they are exponentially better when they are in season locally. Roundabout mid-July to mid-August, hie you hither to a Greenmarket where Red Jacket farms have a booth (like Union Square, for example) and get some of their luscious beauties. Then try this recipe again if you can stand lighting your oven. I’ll lay you odds that you won’t need the extra sugar at that point. I swear this year I’m not only going to make apricot curd, but maybe homemade apricot chutney and some sort of jam that will make my hair stand on end and every other part of me do happy dances.
I love apricots and this looks delicious. What a great breakfast idea.
I can not wait to make this one. What a delicious morning it will be!
Thanks for a gorgeous post.
Denise
Oh yum. I’ll definitely make this this week. I’m always looking for something more exciting than cereal.
Whoa.
Now I know exactly what to make this weekend for guests…nothing better to show off than something insanely delicious but yet has the air of, “oh, this old thing?”
That is a beautiful way to start the day and I’ll have to try this ASAP while the apricots are still here. Yum!
It does look like a crumble… what a great idea!
Yum! I just bought a huge bag of apricots at $0.79 a pound! I’ll have to try this recipe, it looks delicious, but for breakfast? That looks like a wonderful light summer dessert. What can ya do for me with the huge bag of peaches I got?
Delicious! Made this last night. It was great and so easy!
What a perfect breakfast! Looks yummy! :)
Hi, I’ve been a lurker here for a while. Thought I’d pop up and say hello. Hello!
I tried this recipe on the weekend and loved it. I drizzled honey on top of each serving for added sweetness. Wonderful!
like an answer from heaven, i found you by blogsurfing. i happen to have 70 pounds of apricots in my kitchen right now. (long story, i live in the country ok!) awesome. can’t wait to use some for breakfast!!
I made this last night and brought it into my office…..a resounding success with every morsel eaten within 15 minutes!
simply Beautiful post!
Wonderful, just finished eating it with vanilla ice cream. Anything apricot is heaven to me. thanks for the wonderful recipe and photos as well! It was all inspiring.
I made this last night and threw some fresh cherries in. I think the tartness is the perfect counterpoint to the sweet topping… but I tend to like tart thingsto begin with. At any rate, I’m eating some right now and it’s kind of blowing my mind (in a good way).
Sounds too sweet for breakfast but looks great!
I finally made this last night after thinking about it since Sunday. In an attempt to make it slightly more healthy I used a little less sugar (I used brown sugar in the fruit and turbinado in the topping) , a little less butter, whole wheat flour, and snuck some ground flax seeds in the topping. My apricots were on the sweet side so I didn’t miss the sugar. Like you said, this was much better the next morning. Thanks for the most exciting breakfast in weeks!
Inspired by this recipe, I created my own low-fat, low Weight Watchers points version of this. My recipe here:
Apricot Crumble
3 apricots, thinly sliced
1 apple, thinly sliced
2 tsp. sugar
1 tbsp. Splenda
2 packages of Quaker Simple Harvest Maple Brown Sugar w/ Pecans Multi-grain Cereal
1/4 c. applesauce
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a one quart baking dish, mix apricot and apple slices together with sugar and Slenda. In seperate bowl, stir together oatmeal packets and applesause, until it forms a crumbly mixture. Spoon oatmeal mixture over fruit. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking another 15 – 20 minutes or until top is crispy.
Makes 4 servings. 9 points for whole recipes, 2.25 points per serving (random, I know.) Serve with plain yogurt mixed with 1 tbsp. of sugar free maple syrup. Totally delicious and decadent.
I made this Saturday afternoon, chilled it, and ate it for breakfast Sunday morning. It was absolutely delicious. I followed the recipe except for the nuts–I had some chopped pecans hanging around and no almonds. Really, really good. Just the right amount of sweet, and crunchy, and not-that-bad-for-you!
Followed another’s advice of adding a handful of pitted cherries. Such homey gooey simple & comforting flavors meld together in this! The cherries really update it and highlight the smooth mellowness of the apricots. Well done deb, this one’s a keeper for dessert or breakfast.
Hi, thanks for posting this recipe. I made this last Sunday with a few mods and it came out great! I used a combination of apples and strawberries instead of apricots, used one less tbsp of sugar for the fruit, accidently used a whole stick of soybean margarine instead of half, so I added some more flour and oats to get the right texture. Turned out great within with all the changes.
I made this last night… HEAVEN! I was up early this morning just thinking about having it for breakfast with plain yogurt. (The only change I made was a heaping tsp of cinnamon in the crumb topping). My husband laughs at me eating “dessert” for breakfast, but it’s too delicious to be featured after a meal. It deserves it’s own course!
i made this last night for my boyfriend’s birthday breakfast this morning and it was AMAZING (i’m at work still thinking about a flavor). one question i’m hoping you can clarify. you said 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons, 2 ounces) butter, melted. isn’t half a stick 8 tablespoons? i made it with 4 and cut up some extra to put on top during the baking process because i wasn’t sure. thanks deb! you’re my favorite food blog!
Glad it was a hit. One stick is 8 tablespoons, so half is 4. Glad you got it right!
This looks wonderful. Will definitely try it very soon (and it’ll be a nice change for breakfast). As others have said, lovely pictures too…
I’ve got a Bulging aussie apricot tree in my backyard and I searching the net for recipes! Thanks for this one… I will give it a whirl ;)
Trude ~ Tasmania, Australia
hey deb! i’ve been wanting to make a crisp, and rhubarb is calling my name.
could i swap the apricots in this recipe for rhubarb? if not, do you have any good suggestions for a rhubarb crisp recipe? thanks!
Of course. Keep in mind that this is more breakfast-oriented, less sweet. If for dessert, you might adjust it accordingly, more sugar, maybe more topping.
Terrible website. No help at all in printing off a recipe. You use reams of paper trying to just get the recipe. Hope recipe is better than the website
Gail
Every recipe has a print option. It’s at the bottom of the post, linked to the word “Print”. (Example.) Perhaps the website is less terrible now?
Made last night, ate for breakfast and YUMMMMM! I had a bunch of apricots from my CSA this week and had no idea what to do with them all until I found this fantastic recipe! I added a stray peach and used less sugar (little more than 1/2) et voila – superdelicious!
This is in the oven right now with peaches substituted for the apricots and a pinch of ginger in place of the nutmeg. It was fun ripping apart the fruit and the topping seemed *perfect.* I’m excited to have it tomorrow morning with a little Greek yogurt on top. Great, simple, awesome recipe! I love how everything I make from SK ends up looking just as good on the counter as it does in the pictures :)
Thanks for the idea! I made a version of this with 1/2 huckleberries and 1/2 apricots, thinking the huckleberries might soften the sourness of the apricots. Plus, these two fruits are ripe at the same time where I am, and so it seemed like a natural pairing. The result? “A good sour,” was my husband’s verdict. We ate it with Greek Yoghurt. I’ve discovered it’s impossible to botch a recipe with huckleberries in it. Blueberries would probably work, too, if you aren’t fortunate enough to have huckleberries on hand.
ahhh this recipe is so totally delicious! i found myself with some over-ripening apricot on hand and my mind skipped immediately to this post. i made a half-recipe and sadly none of it even made it into the fridge for overnight chilling…
deb, do you have any tips on how to adjust for more juicy fruits? for example, if i wanted to use blueberries, would i have to add cornstarch or something with the fruit? thanks!
I made a version of this last weekend for a Peachy brunch. I added fresh picked blackberries and subbed the apricots with ripening peaches and dolloped the top with Greek plain yogurt and toasted almonds. Great flavours!
Thank you for the recipe.
I made it this morning and went back to sleep. I couldn’t find any apricots here, so I assume they’re not in season. Luckily, plenty of other things are in season. I substituted the apricots with three peaches and three nectarines. Placed in the fridge for about 4 hours. Delicious!
I tried this with yellow peaches instead of apricots. It was AMAZING. My mom wants me to make it for her next party.
Excellent recipe. Everyone in my family loves me so much right now for making this crisp!
I love this recipe! I tried it with white peaches and regular apricots…sooo yummy.
Can this be made with dried apricots when fresh aren’t in season?
Janet — It is definitely worth trying. Please let us know how it goes; apricot season is too short and options are good.
Just a cross-reference to my comment on your cinnamon buns: I had three old Cortland apples in the fridge, plus some frozen blueberries, strawberries, and cranberries, so I used this mix in place of apricots. I’ve never had a problem eating sweeter versions of fruit crisps for breakfast (blame my farm upbringing?), so I used your crisp topping as a starting point. I added flaxseeds and my own candied ginger, and used white whole wheat flour in place of the AP. The whole dish came out wonderfully hearty and wake-you-up tart.
And, as I mentioned in the cinnamon buns comment, I put a dollop of that cream cheese frosting on the last bit of crisp. Absolutely delectable!
Thank you for this delicious recipe. Googled Apricot crisps after scoring a pound of very ripe remainder apricots for only $1 at my local farmers market this Sunday. Your recipe worked perfectly since I already had all the other ingredients on hand. Scrumptious with Greek yogurt as you recommended or, for a sweeter fix, with a couple small scoopfuls of vanilla soy ice cream. definitely a great breakfast reboot. The amount of topping seemed a bit overmuch for the size of baking dish called for but turned out perfectly melded with the fruit once baked. The only note is that it bubbled over into the oven. Would make sure to place a baking sheet underneath next time to save on oven scrubbing.
Used this crisp topping again today for an odds-and-ends crisp of peaches, apples, blackberries, cranberries, and grapes. Still in the oven and smelling terrific.
Just made this with apricots I spent too much money on just because they looked to gorgeous to pass up. It was STUNNING on a gray and rainy day working from home with my dude in Milwaukee. Stunning.
I made this yesterday night with some delicious apricots from the market. Lovely, almost hands free recipe. Thank you!
SO delicious!! Loved every bite – thanks!
I made this for the fourth yesterday. I made it more dessert-friendly by doing 1 1/2 times the fruit but doubling the sugar and topping and serving with fresh whipped cream. This morning I dug the one leftover serving out of the fridge and ate it cold with plain yogurt and a drizzle of honey. It was heaven, so thank you!
This is a really incredible combination of flavor and texture. And filling too! Spooned it over about a half cup of Fage yogurt. Very friendly to the health-conscious diet – in my opinion – and easy as can be. I’ll do this again, for sure.
Tks!
I just finished making this and its reallly tart but tasty, I added blueberries too! LOVE that topping, I put it in the fridge already and hope for the best in the morning! Thanks again for a great recipe
I made this tonight and OMG soooo good. Can’t wait til morning.
This is great! I’ve been eating rhubarb crisp with yogurt for breakfast and can’t wait to do the same with this apricot crisp! Yum.
Another awesome recipe! I tried it this morning and it was perfect!
A great, simple, easy to prepare dish. Thanks for the great recipe!
My boyfriend is allergic to almonds so I threw in a few dried cranberries (what we usually add to our homemade granola) and it was delicious. Such an easy and yummy recipe. Now if I can only find a way to hide it from his bandmates so there is some left for breakfast tomorrow…
Btw, every recipe I’ve attempted from your site has been amazing. The summer strawberry cake was gone in hours and your lemon and parmesan pasta was devoured by my boyfriend’s drummer so fast we barely got a few bites. We’ve in the midst of some serious June gloom here in LA and I think the only antidote might be the Balthazar mushroom soup for dinner. Mmmmm can’t wait!
I made this with some fresh Ontario apricots and three of my little niecelets sat around finishing off the last few crumbs out of the baking dish with a spoon. I guess that says it all! :)
Here’s what’s also really delicious: this topping, doubled, over an 8″ square pan of peaches, raspberries, and Italian plums. It’s already my go-to crisp topping for any and all fruits, but tonight, I improvised a bit: used all white whole wheat flour instead of AP; lacked enough turbinado, so used regular sugar plus a splash of molasses (and thanks for THAT tip, Deb – I haven’t bought brown sugar in at least two years now); used walnuts instead of almonds; doubled (maybe tripled?) the salt, as I have sort of made a habit of that when it comes to some of my baked goods.
Added cornstarch, honey, and salt to the fruit, too. Holy crap, it’s a mouth-party of flavors. However, since I also just used up the rest of my yogurt to make the Aleppo pepper cornbread, I won’t get to try crisp-plus-yogurt for a couple days. I’m sure an ice-cold glass of whole milk will be a fine stand-in.
Delicious! I made this for the first time this summer, and added a few blueberries in. Very pretty. Then this fall, I had a pile of apples, and I thought back to the yummy topping in this recipe. I sprinkled in some raspberries for color and tartness, and a bit of cinnamon to go with the apples. Scrumptious! I thought maybe for a festive treat, cranberries would be fun to try with the apples. What do you think?
I’ve made this two summers in a row now and it’s fantastic. It definitely needs to be refrigerated and served with great yogurt but it’s my favorite recipe for apricot cobbler!
i wanted this terribly but only had pears on hand so I ran with it…added in a pinch of pepper and went with 1 tbl sugar since pears are so sweet anyway. SO GOOD. planned on eating it for breakfast tomorrow but had a quality check as a midnight snack…om nom nom nom. im assuming/hoping you’ve tried this with pears, but if you haven’t, DO IT. NOW.
I’m eating this right now with Greek yogurt, and it is divine. Best weekday breakfast ever!
Hi Deb,
I was wondering if you had a suggestion for a butter substitute.
Can’t wait to make this and eat it all week!
Stephanie — There’s no reason not to use another fat, such as coconut oil (virgin) or olive oil, whatever you like to bake with.
I will be making this the third time tomorrow morning – first time for our gourmet group visiting us in the N.M. mountains, second and third for family. Have changed back and forth from apricots to peaches – still trying to decide which is yummiest (is this a word??) Thank you for all the great recipes – I use your website constantly and have never found a recipe I didn’t love.
I have to say that this is one of my favorite recipes. I’ve made it with several different fruit bases. I think I made it the first time with peaches but last night…well, we had some frozen blueberries that just didn’t taste that great with our yogurt. I defrosted them with a few peach slices but then I goofed. I started to lay out my ingrediants and I got side tracked, so when I went back to the fruit I accidently dumped it in with the sugar and oats. It turns out that this wasn’t such a bad thing because the blueberries exude a ton of juice so the oats soaked up a lot of it. I then measured out the sugar and oats again because I just ‘gotta have that topping. It came out great. My guy wouldn’t stop eating it out of the baking dish while it was still hot! I’ve got some with my yogurt this morning at work. Thanks for the recipe!
This is such a great recipe! I’ve tried several different fruits. This will be at our Thanksgiving with apples, pears and cranberries. I’m so happy it made your book (which is so amazing!!!). Love all you do here. Thanks again!
Found this the other day & set out looking for Apricots, Not in season ;>{ Found a 15 oz can of D/M apricots, washed them & cut the sugar to 1/3 Cooked it up covered in vanilla ice cream & it was Delicious ;>}} Any other Dessert for breakfast ideas ;>?
Will be looking around your sight for more ideas ;>} Thank You ;>}
How many does this serve?
How long will this keep in the fridge?
Your photography is so beautiful and actually, really erotic, that I can only imagine that you and your dear husband aren’t happy in only the kitchen. There, I said it. Kudos!
Except for peaches, I’m not a huge stone fruit person, so I’ve been looking for ideas to use the fruit in my farmshare in a way that I will actually eat it. I made this last night and threw in a bag of bing cherries. It was absolutely fantastic over greek yogurt his morning.
I made this last night and had it for breakfast this morning. Absolutely perfect! I love the sugar-to-fruit ratio you suggested. Not overly sweet, with the perfect amount of tartness. This will definitely be a new favorite in my kitchen.
I threw in a few plums as well, which added a nice deep color to the cooked fruit.
Thank you!
This is the first recipe from your blog that I decided to make :) It’s absolutely delicious! My apricots were rather sweet, so I didn’t sprinkle them with sugar.
I will bake it once again, for sure, maybe with some other fruits.
Best wishes form Poland, Europe :)
Just made this with the now in-season, tasty apricots popping up in the grocery stores! I ate it with some Greek yogurt and it was delish!!
This is in the oven right now and I’m very excited to eat it tomorrow morning :) Just commenting to say that I used a 2.5-quart cast-iron dutch oven and it’s the perfect size. I was worried it’d be too big, but no.
Wow super scrumptious. I made it with apricots and it was so good I tried it with sour cherries I picked withy girls. It worked great ill be trying blueberries next!
I paired this crisp with fennel ice cream this summer, what an amazing dessert!
Should this be assembled, cooked, cooled, refrigerated, then reheated?
Or assembled, refrigerated, cooked, then served warm?
I’d say cooked and then reheated.
Deb, I knew you wouldn’t let me down when I had a pile of glorious apricots but no inspiration for them. I was in a serious state of breakfast boredom – this was just what I needed!! The scoop of Greek yogurt I would never have thought of but is the perfect accompaniment. I’m having a very happy start to my day off today!!
Deb, another fabulous recipe! I added in a few white peaches that were just shy of being completely ripe and it was delicious!
I have made this recipe twice this week with peaches and plums as you suggested in your cookbook. Absolutely delicious. Thank you.
I made this and found it way too sweet. Next time I will eliminate the sugar in the fruit and cut the sugar for the topping in half.
This is so good, I’ve made it twice in 3 days. Apricots are not in season here so I used gorgeous sweet huge blackberries. Served with Lowfat plain Greek yogurt mixed with a little lavender honey, and also avocado toast. My guests felt special for breakfast on Sunday. Thanks for the great recipe!
Thank you. I made it this morning and it automatically became my favourite breakfast. Made it with half apricots half peaches and it absolutely kicks ass! Thanks again!
This was DELICIOUS! thank you!
I just made this and subbed peaches for apricots. It is delicious! I think that next time, I will try subbing brown sugar for the sugar in the crumble topping.
I made a 5 times batch of the crumble with apricots from my tree. Many neighbor’s waxed nostalgic about their apricot memories from when the town was all orchards. One fellow and his brother would stuff apricots with firecrackers and watch them explode, as teenagers. It was a perfect recipe. Thanks!
Made this last night win fresh apricots from the farmer’s market, and wow! My 9 year old said, “this wasn’t good, Mom; it was awesome!” thank you!
Can regular sugar be substituted for raw sugar? Or honey?
Barb — Yes to regular sugar. For honey, you might have more trouble getting the mixture to crumble since it’s wet.
Made it last night with peaches & nectarines, had it this morning with home made yogurt. Delicious! Thank you :)
Is it just me or is the topping a bit scant?
Hey Deb,
I just made this with apples and plums (as these are seasonal to us here in the UK). Thank you for the wonderful recipe. The nuts really makes it. I wanted to ask you why you put a tablespoon of flour in with the fruit? Is it to try and soak up some of the juices so it’s not so runny?
Thank you! I love your recipes and your cookbook is a firm favourite in my house in London. I sometimes just sit and read it for pleasure with a cup of coffee!
Emily
I just discovered frozen apricots at Trader Joe’s that I think would be perfect for this recipe. They’re partially dried before they’re frozen, so once thawed they have a fresh texture rather than a soggy texture. They’re also already pitted and quartered. I’m going to have to pick up another bag and try this!
MIMI, I just made this with the Trader Joe’s Partially Dried Frozen Apricots–delicious! For this recipe I used the full bag (10oz). I threw them in right from the freezer, baked for 15 minutes with foil on and then about 30 minutes with it off (until topping was very brown). Hope you had success with this as well, thanks for the idea.
hi – finally got around to making this and am having it for breakfast right now. first, it’s amazing. thank you. second, i had some fresh raspberries on hand that i threw in the bottom of the bowl. it’s a really good add. thanks for continuing to be an every day meal inspiration.
I made this last night with peaches and plums and had it for breakfast this morning. So so good! I’ve made it before with apricots and it is pretty tart, but still delicious!! The peach/plum combination was much sweeter. An awesome recipe and idea, thanks Deb!!
Could you make this with plums, peaches, or nectarines? I have a weird thing against fresh apricots. It looks soooo good…. Thx!!
You can, generally speaking, always substitute another stone fruit for the apricots. I just made this and it smells delicious!
Very much enjoyed this. I made this last night with fresh apricots from the grocery store (they sold them in a 1 lbs bag) and it was delicious straight out of the oven with salted caramel ice cream for dessert and then this morning with greek yogurt on top. Definitely tart this morning with the greek yogurt, but in a good perfect breakfast way. I would definitely make this again with fresh apricots. I baked it for 30 minutes.
I am so happy to see this recipe! We have an apricot tree in our yard, and it’s not that easy to find recipes for apricots. Very excited to give this one a try.
How many is this supposed to serve? Thank you!
It depends on how you want to serve it — i.e. a scoop with an equal-sized scoop of yogurt, bigger or smaller, or no yogurt, but I’d say 2 to 4.
thank you! I added about 50% more fruit and left the topping the same. It smells amazing…just took it out of the oven!
Could you freeze this? I am 9 months pregnant with (ugh) gestational diabetes and looking for things to freeze for post baby enjoyment. Thank you!!
I haven’t frozen it before but it seems like something that will freeze well. Sorry about the GD; I had it at the very end the first time, no fun. Almost done!
Thanks Deb! We’ll see if I can keep my husband and daughter away from it in time to freeze it….
Hi Sarah, Did you freeze it? If so, did it work? Thanks
A little late as a response, but I’ve freezed it. It’s delicious! I’m going to make a few batches to freeze this month since I love it so much.
Years later! I froze in 8 ounce canning jars in summer of 2020 and still delicious in Spring 2021. Now that my apricot crop is a bust I am trying it with peaches.
looks delicious – i’m thinking about making this for a brunch this weekend, and wondering if it would scale up to feed more folks? should work, right?
Absolutely. You could probably double or even triple it in a lasagna pan.
excellent – that sounds like a plan. :)
This was one of my go-to smitten kitchen dishes for a long time, I love it with apricots, but also plums and apples and just about any other fruit you can imagine. I went 2 years without a reliable oven, and now that I’ve moved somewhere with a good oven, I decided to make this again, and serve it up with homemade yogurt.
It was meant to last me the whole work week, but I’m afraid it’s not going to make it to Tuesday…
My husband and I have fallen hard for this dish. It’s currently in the oven for the third time in two weeks! First batch I followed the recipe exactly. The second I added some peaches and raspberries. This latest batch is apricots and raspberries. We find it perfect for dessert with vanilla ice cream. It’s lovely hot but even better cold, I think. Oh and I use walnuts rather than almonds, as that’s what I had. A delicious, versatile dish. Thanks, Deb!
This turned out beautifully and my husband was more than thrilled!! He said this was one of my best items I’ve made. I used peaches and strawberries instead of apricots and it was still great! Topped it with a mix of plain Greek yogurt, whip cream, and a bit of sugar.
I’ve made it 4-5 times so far – original recipe, once with blackberries and apricots, once with raspberries and apricots. All were great with Greek yogurt. Not too sweet, just the taste of pure, delicious fruit.
Oh, this was so delicious!!! I used 6 apricots and a gluten-free flour mix (and didn’t have any sliced almonds so just left those out). I ate it warm for breakfast the first time (with a dollop of Greek yogurt) but just made another (double) batch so we can eat one tonight for dessert and have the 2nd cold for breakfast!
This is so good. Made it for breakfast today, as written except to skip the almonds and toss in a couple tablespoons of flax seeds. I assembled last night and baked this morning, and it was tart but not overly so. Served with plain yogurt. Ate it again for lunch.
I came home from the Farmer’s Market with a pound and a half of very ripe (so they cost 75 cents!) and wonderful apricots. I quickly put together this crisp as written, but upped the amounts by one third. This is the easiest, tastiest and quickest crisp there could ever be and served with plain yogurt, I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner! I did put a tiny bit of almond extract in the topping which I loved. Just the thing to make on a warm summer day and eat cold from the fridge! Many thanks!
I make this all the time with other fruits – raspberries, peaches, etc. I use only one tbsp of sugar on the fruit because these fruits are much sweeter than apricots. But the reason I’m commenting is because I accidentally used brown butter (was melting butter and got distracted then didn’t want to re melt butter). And it was so SO good, I’ll always do this. Try it!
What a treat! I used peaches rather than apricots, and it was delicious. With a big dollop of Greek yogurt, this is pure breakfast comfort food.
Made this tonight with end of July MI apricots. Yum! We didn’t need to put it in the refrigerator as it was delicious out of the oven with plain Greek yogurt. Next time I’m going to add a few blueberries. Great recipe.
Hiya! I’m trying to stay on a diet here of about 1600 Cals a day. About how many calories do you think would be in this? Thanks so much.
It will depend on your serving size. There are many online calorie calculators. I sometimes use this.
This sounds gorgeous! Could I make it using rehydrated dried apricots, as fresh apricots are now out-of-season? If so, what ratio of dried apricots to liquid (I’m thinking orange juice!), please?
Many thanks.
just a quick note to say that I’ve made this with frozen apricots and it works very well; i just add maybe 5 or so minutes to the cook time. i also, inadvertently, made this will mostly thawed apricots a few days ago (took them out of the deep freeze, meaning to pop them into my fridge’s freezer but accidentally put them in the fridge overnight instead). while delicious, it was not the most attractive of dishes when it came out of the oven, sort of an apricot baby food crisp if you will. didn’t stop us from enjoying it with big dollops of yogurt mind you.
I’m so late to this party. This was super easy to throw together! I used frozen mango chunks instead of apricot (added one tbsp more flour to the fruit to absorb the extra liquid) and cardamom instead of nutmeg. The mango ended up slightly jammy and the whole thing was delicious!
I love the nuts in this crumble recipe and make this all the time in the summer or in the winter when I pull a baggie of frozen apricots from the fridge. Will never make a crumble without a hefty proportion of nuts again!
It’s a really close race between this and the mushroom marsala pasta bake for my favorite Smitten Kitchen dish, but I love making this all summer. I add almond extract to the apricot base, and today – for the first time – I subbed almond flour for the AP flour in the topping. It worked really well, so if someone is trying to make this GF, go for it. You won’t be sorry.
Just made this last night and 1/2 was eaten while still warm with vanilla Ice cream and this morning I’m having it with tea. It is delicious and comforting.
I made it without any changes using ripe Apricots which I could have used less sugar mixed into the apricots. It’s not too too sweet but it’s definitely not tart.
Next time I will add some blueberries picked from my garden. Yum…I can’t wait to make this again. Thanks, Deb for the inspiration because I love apricots and I love crisps so this is a perfect combination.
This looks amazing but I am not an apricot fan and was wondering if I could use peaches instead. If so, would there be adjustments to the sugar or other ingredients?
I have followed you since the days of the teeny apartment and no children. My sister introduced me to your site then and we used to compare and comment on your posts all the time. She has since passed and I miss talk to her about your recipes and adventures. 🥰
I made it with peaches and ended quadrupling the recipie. I’d say yes. Since they are bigger. It’s really yummy with peaches.
Thank you for the information. I will give it a try this week!!
Made this tonight and it was so yummy! My friends son had 3 helpings!
Made this recipe i substituted the apercots and and cherries. I had to do the recipe times 4. It was amazing!
*The apricots with peaches and cherries
That sounds really good! Thank you.
OK, I didn’t exactly “follow” this recipe (wanted to use up good-but-not-great peaches and nectarines, didn’t have enough for the pan so threw in some apples, needed more topping so winged it on amounts, etc. etc.) but I need to thank you for the genius idea of turbinado sugar. I had a big bag of it that I hardly ever used. Crunchy deliciousness.
Could I use another stone fruit like peaches in this recipe?
Yes
SO GOOD! But… maybe my apricots aren’t as sour, or i just like tart desserts (I do) but I halved the sugar in the recipe and am very happy I did! I figure if it lacked sweetness we could always top it with syrup or honey – but it’s spot on! Just thought I’d leave this comment for anyone else who finds American tastes a little on the sweet side.
Looks like the perfect cure for the breakfast doldrums! My daughter is allergic to all tree nuts and peanuts. What, if anything, could I substitute for the almonds?
Try more oats
I don’t know if it’s still sold, but back in the day, I used to put Grape-Nuts in my banana bread for people with nut allergies (and sometimes just to save money).
We must be using different kinds of apricots, because I’ve tried recipe twice as written and both times the fruit was WAY too sweet and not tart. (This was using ripe blenheim apricots from our tree). Since then I’ve switched to skipping the sugar in the fruit part altogether, and using half the amount of sugar in the crumble topping and that is just right for my taste.
Love this recipe, but apricot season is over. What’s your opinion about making this with peaches or mango?
Perhaps you could update this recipe with more specificity re: dish size or the number of servings the recipe makes. For my part, I used ramekins and got 7 servings from the recipe.
I had peaches on hand, which were pretty sweet, so I adjusted down the amt of sugar that went over the fruit. I didn’t have almonds so used walnuts and they worked. I think you could use any stone fruit and even throw in a few berries.
This recipe is a yummy way to rationalize dessert for breakfast!
I made a batch of the “breakfast apricot crisp” in June of 2020. I froze some as a test for future crops and just defrosted and ate it “refrigerator cold” in February of 2021. It is delicious and the apricots kept firm and fresh tasting! It doesn’t seem soggy…wondered about that😉. It is on the sweet side but a tangy yogurt would tone it down.
This is delicious and was a huge hit. I didn’t have enough apricots so added blueberries and a peach to make just over one pound of fruit. I love that it uses only 1 bowl and the baking dish. Thank you again for a simple, delicious recipe!
I’ve made this four times in the past two weeks. You nailed it! And as you said, not a dessert .. the flavors perfect over night.
Love it!
Oh. My. Goodness.
Our Blenheim apricot tree dumped about eight pounds of apricots in a little over 24 hours due to high winds. They’re in varying stages of ripeness. I did this with nearly two pounds of fruit in a one-quart gratin dish. I upped the topping to 2/3 c. each flour and oats, 6 Tb. butter. Used all told about 3-4 Tb. sugar in the filling, and it was glorious. Thanks, Deb!
Something is wrong about these directions. I put all 6 T over the apricots with the flour, but then the topping called for sugar and flour, too? Can you revise the directions to make more explicit. Hopefully it will come out okay even if the directions seemed wrong – it’s in the oven cooking now.
Cristin, I see your comment. I make this every year as we have a few trees and I freeze it and usually quadruple the recipe for a lasagna size pan. Please note that there is a BASE recipe section and a TOPPING section. You make them separately and then put the base in the pan and then add the topping. I think you inadvertently mixed up the quantities needed for each section. This is one of my reliable and well used recipes. The only thing I don‘t do is tear the apricots. I cut them. Maybe it is my variety that doesn’t tear well. Good luck.
Could I make this gluten free by subbing out the floor for an alternative flour? Any suggestions?
I’ve made this several times as written, with apricots, and loved it. I had some ripe nectarines and wanted an easy recipe, but I was out of oatmeal. I replaced the oats with cornmeal, and it came out crispy and delicious! I used flour and cornmeal, but if you want to be gluten-free, maybe oatmeal and cornmeal would work.
How about using plums? Any changes suggested?
I’ve made this twice in the last two weeks. I usually eat cheerios with fruit for breakfast, but when I eat this with nonfat Greek yogurt I feel like I’m getting away with eating dessert for breakfast. So good!
Could you substitute brown sugar? If so, would it be the same quantity as the white sugar? Thank you!
I have yet to make this with apricots so I’ll just leave my comments re the topping — although I’m sure the apricot is fab. I just don’t want to be *that* commenter.
OMG so good. A friend gave me her small Denby gratin dishes and they are each the perfect size for this. If I may be bold here, don’t be afraid to swap out the almonds for another nut if you’re tardy to the store party and only have walnuts or pecans on hand. It still works! I’m making this weekly now. So good and any excuse to eat “desert” for breakfast, right??
I look forward to making this every year when apricots are in-season! Just made it last night for breakfast today. I have found that I prefer to cut the apricots into bite-size pieces – the apricots still get jammy and delicious – but easier to eat. It’s so refreshing and good served cold from the fridge with a scoop of plain Greek yogurt for breakfast.
After a weekend away in Northern Michigan, I came home with a bushel of peaches, but my favorite purchase was a quart of apricots that I squirreled away specifically for this breakfast. Tearing apart the apricots by their seams provides a level of satisfaction that is par to none, except maybe the smell of the freshly grated nutmeg. Chef’s kiss, Deb, to one of my all-time favorites. Happy summer!
I make the breakfast crisp with peaches also but the tart apricot flavor is preferable. I freeze the crisp and then use in the winter. I often have 3-4 servings in my container so it lasts for a few days.
Has anyone ever tried this with cherries? I read through all the comments and saw that someone tried with peaches and cherries and it turned out yummy. My cherries are very sweet and juicy, so we’ll see!