Do you ever wonder what is the difference between a fruit Crisp and a Crumble? Or for that matter what’s the difference between a fruit Buckle, Cobbler, Betty or Pandowdy? Basically, these are all relatively simple, adaptable desserts one can pull together with whatever fruit you want to elevate to a finished dessert with butter, flour, sugar and heat. They can be made in containers of all shapes and sizes.
They are all delightful with a scoop of vanilla or buttermilk ice cream and nobody ever complains if you serve the leftovers for breakfast. But each of these desserts do have specific, unique traits, some of the definitions are different regionally, but I’ve been doing some research and learned the general differences most seem to agree on. Following the 411 you’ll find my easy classic Crisp recipe, made with our orchard peaches {but you can make it with whatever fruit catches your fancy} and then lots of links full of more information and recipes for Buckles, Crumbles, Crisps, Cobblers, Betties, and even Slumps, Sonkers and Grunts.
Crisps and crumbles are both sweetened baked fruit topped with a streusel {flour, sugar, butter, spices}. The main difference is that the streusel on a Crisp contains oats and sometimes nuts, making it more crunchy and providing more crispy texture. Whereas the topping of a crumble is more of a “sandier” streusel made without oats or nuts, which tends to pack down more evenly over the bubbling fruit as it bakes and crumbles when you break into it with a spoon.
A cobbler is also made with a sweetened fruit base concoction, but it is topped with biscuit dough, so when baked it resembles a cobbled road. A buckle is so called because it is made with a layer of cake batter and the sweetened fruit which “buckles” into the cake batter while it bakes, this dessert is similar to a fruit coffee cake in texture and presentation with a sprinkle of streusel on top.
A Betty also starts with a mix of sweetened fruit, but it is topped with bread crumbs {a good use for leftover bread or biscuits}, butter and brown sugar before baked to tender, messy, crunchy goodness. If you have a little pie dough to spare and don’t feel like taking the time to make a proper pie, then you can make a Pan Dowdy, where the fruit base is topped with cut or torn pieces of pie dough and baked until the dough is golden brown.
Peach Crisp
serves 6
Ingredients
topping
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, melted
filling
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 cups sliced peaches
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, oats, brown sugar, ginger and cinnamon, toss together.
Pour in the butter and blend together until crumbly.
In a medium bowl, mix together the egg, flour and vanilla. Peel and slice the fruit and add it to the bowl. Gently toss the fruit in the egg mixture until it is evenly coated.
Spoon the fruit into a baking dish {or 2}, the mix will fill a 10″ long oval Le Creuset dish. Lightly smooth the top of the peach mixture.
Spoon the oatmeal topping over the peaches and roughly even it out to cover most of the fruit {we like to leave some high points and low points, to create plenty of crunchy bits!}
Put it towards the back of the heated oven and turn the timer to 55 minutes (busy bees tip — keep the timer with you! If you are doing something in another part of the house, you may not hear the bell}. If the top isn’t crisp enough to your liking {every oven is different} you can finish it off with a few minutes under the broiler, but be sure to watch it carefully so that it doesn’t burn.
So, what fruits are you finding in abundance during these waning days of summer??
Following are articles that further discuss the similarities and differences of these simple fruit desserts with funny names and a plethora of different recipes you can try and modify from Taste of Home, Bon Appetite, The Farmers Almanac, Southern Living and even Splendid Market.
https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/the-difference-between-cobblers-crumbles-crisps-and-buckles/
https://www.bonappetit.com/story/what-is-a-cobbler
https://www.farmersalmanac.com/crisp-crumble-cobbler-whats-difference-29174
https://splendidmarket.com/2019/09/can-she-bake-cherry-pie.html
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