Individual Mason Jar Fruit Crisps

It’s July and fresh fruit is in season!  What could be more fun than portable, individual, cute desserts in a jar?  Off to Wal-Mart I went to find the correct size canning jars… the short, wide-mouth jars would be perfect for these crisps.  I purchased the last 16 jars (sold in sets of 4) on the shelf and the lady behind me was quite distressed that there weren’t any left for her!  I served these after dinner at home, but they would be perfect to pack for a picnic or take to a pot luck gathering.  They would also be great to take to a neighbor as a get well or welcome to the neighborhood gift. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Spray the inside of 8-ounce jars with cooking spray. (I used the short, wide mouth jars) 

INGREDIENTS:
For the fruit part of the crisp:

• Fresh or frozen fruit — about 1 cup of fruit per jar
• 1 tablespoon of white or brown sugar per cup of fruit
• 1 tablespoon of flour per cup of fruit
• ½ teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

To make 4 crisps, you’ll need about 4 cups of chopped fruit.  Thus far, I’ve made blueberry and peach crisps but you can use most any fruit. Add the flour, sugar, and flavoring and stir until all the fruit is coated. 

Fill the jars up to the line just below the screw rings, leaving enough space for the topping.

Streusel Topping

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Mix together the dry ingredients.  Add cubed butter and mix with your hands or pastry blender until mixture is crumbly and well combined. 

This will make enough topping for 8 to 12 crisps, depending on how much topping you use for each one; I made 12.  If you’re only making a few jars of crisp, you can put the extra in a ziploc bag, refrigerate it, and save for another batch or you can halve the recipe.

Scoop about 1/3 to ½ cup of the topping and press it onto the fruit, filling almost to the top of the jar.

Bake at 375 degrees F for about 40 minutes.

Let cool and top with freshly whipped cream or ice cream!

Tip:  if you don’t plan to use them all at once, you can put the lids on the crisps and freeze them because canning jars can go from freezer to oven.