Ground Cherry and Peach Crisp
A few years ago, my mom planted ground cherries in her garden in honor of her dad, who adored his ground cherry patch when she was growing up. She didn't remember what he used to bake with them and they don't taste great raw, so they have been more like a weed than a crop for the past few years. Even though we kept pulling them up, they kept coming back year after year. I like to think this was my grandpa intervening from the afterlife, trying to force us to enjoy the darn cherries.
This year, I decided that it was finally time to put these cherries to good use and I am so glad I did. For those who have never had ground cherries, they taste like a mild pineapple with the texture of a grape. For being a plant that is native to the midwestern U.S., they have surprisingly tropical vibes. That tropical taste is the ideal partner for peaches in this crisp. The addition of coconut oil and almonds in the recipe just enhances that beach-y feel.
This recipe was adapted from the King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion cookbook. The original recipe called for more sugar in the filling and for using melted butter rather than solid coconut oil. I prefer the filling a little less sweet and I love the tropical hint that the coconut oil adds to the dish. I also prefer the final texture that the solid coconut oil creates. If you’d rather have a butter-y flavor, feel free to use cold butter in place of the coconut oil.
Let me know what you think of the recipe and don’t forget to follow the sustainability tips below!
Time: 1 hour
Makes: 1 10-inch skillet dessert
Serves: 6-8 people
Ingredients
Filling
2 heaping cups sliced peaches, from 2-3 peaches
2 heaping cups hulled ground cherries, from about 3 pints of in-husk ground cherries
Note: If you can’t find enough ground cherries, you can substitute peaches for a total of 4 heaping cups of fruit
1/4 cup granulated or coconut sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Topping
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped almonds or pecans
1/4 cup granulated or coconut sugar
6 tablespoons room temperature coconut oil
The coconut oil should be solid but scoopable
1/4 teaspoon salt
Methods
For the filling
Preheat oven to 350 F. Hull the ground cherries and peel the skin off the peaches. Cut peaches into 1/4-inch thick slices. Grease a 10-inch cast-iron skillet or pie pan and arrange the fruit in the bottom of the pan. In a small bowl, whisk together the filling's sugar, flour, salt and lemon juice and sprinkle this mixture over the fruit.
For the topping and baking
In a large bowl, stir together the topping's flour, shredded coconut, nuts, sugar and salt. Then, use your fingertips to work the coconut oil into the mixture. The texture should be similar to wet sand. Sprinkle this over the fruit. Bake the crisp for 45-60 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling out. Let the mixture cool for a few minutes if you can help it, then dig in.
Sustainability Tips
Peaches and ground cherries: Grow these fruits yourself or get them from a neighboring farmer. This way, the fruits won't have to travel as far to get to you, which will prevent excess greenhouse gases from getting into the atmosphere. Ideally, buy these fruits organically as well so they aren't contributing as much to pesticide contamination.
Flour: I like to buy King Arthur brand flour because King Arthur Flour is a B Corp, which means that they're held to a high environmental and social standard. Alternatively, you could seek out a farmer who grows and mills flour locally. Buying locally can help connect you to your local food system and cut back on the miles your food has to travel.
Sugar: I like to buy coconut sugar because it's easy to find fair trade varieties, but fair trade granulated sugar is another great option here. Read all about it in my sustainable cane sugars post!