breakfast apricot crisp

I went on a bit of an apricot baking marathon last week.  The weather FINALLY cooled off and I could crank the oven on again.  Anyone else feeling a bit lost with all the heat and no chance to bake?  I also had loads of apricots in my fridge that needed to get used up.  So, I used this recipe, substituting apricots for peaches and made this lovely creation too.  Dessert for breakfast anyone?

How could you possibly say no to these beautiful fruits?

You don't even need a knife to open them.  This is rustic cooking at its best.

This recipe is intended to be eaten at breakfast after cooling in the fridge overnight.  Just serve with a scoop of plain yogurt.  Because I had so many apricots, I increased the amount of fruit.  I kept the amount of topping as is to really pack this with apricot goodness.  This recipe would work beautifully for dessert with a scoop of ice cream too.  Just use the larger amount of sugar in the fruit base.

Breakfast Apricot Crisp - adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Fruit Base:

2 pounds apricots
6-9 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon flour
grated fresh nutmeg, a pinch

Crisp Topping:

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted
6 tablespoons turbinado, demerara or regular sugar
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons sliced almonds (optional)

Prepare fruit:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Pull apart apricots at their seam, remove pits and team them one more time into quarters, placing them in a 9x13 inch baking dish.  Stir in sugar, flour and pinch of nutmeg.
Making 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 can serve it warm with vanilla ice cream for dessert, this excels cooled in the fridge overnight, and mixed with plain yogurt for a weekday breakfast.