Got Fruit? Make A Crostata! It’s A Simple Delicious Dessert

When you’re in the mood for a delicious dessert but you don’t feel like spending hours in the kitchen “fussing” over it…Make a CROSTATA! 

I’ve you’ve never heard of a crostata you’re probably not alone. It’s an Italian baked tart or pie. It’s like a pie…but much easier to make! (So what’s not to love about that?)

Recently one of my loyal Readers told me she found several bags of peaches in her freezer and she wondered if I had any ideas how she could use them up. So I immediately thought of my “go-to” quick dessert…My Blueberry Peach Crostata. (This method works equally well with most kinds of fruit.)

Basically, you roll out a pie crust into a “somewhat” round shape, dump on the fruit and fold the crust up and over the filling to form sort of a “pocket” for the filling.   (I even “cheat” and use a store-bought crust!) 

Meemaw’s Crostata Recipe…Use Any Fruit You Like!

 Roll out pie dough onto parchment paper and place on a rimmed cookie sheet.  Slice several peaches and some blueberries into a bowl.  (Or use those frozen peaches..or ANY kind of fruit!) Sprinkle with approximately 1/2 cup sugar, 2 T. flour and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon.  You can add a little lemon juice (1 T.) if you’d like.  (Sometimes I use orange juice.) Mix well and dump onto center of crust.  Fold edge over and crimp into place.  Brush edge of crust with a beaten egg, and sprinkle crust and fruit with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.  Bake at 375 degrees until fruit is cooked through and crust is browned.  If crust browns too quickly, cover with foil for the last few minutes of baking.  I think I baked mine for approximately 30 min.  And don’t be sad if some of the juice leaks out of the crust and begins to burn on the parchment paper since it happens almost every time I make one. Just slide the baked crostata off the paper and onto a serving platter and nobody will ever know! (It will be our little secret!) In fact, if you look closely you can see the “burned” edge on this Apple and Blackberry Crostata I made this winter…

I know…this isn’t really a “recipe”…but I’ve made these so often I really don’t measure anymore. And you can adjust the amount of sugar based on how sweet and ripe your fruit might be. And sometimes I use brown sugar instead of white sugar. If your fruit is extra-juicy you might add an extra tablespoon of flour to the mixture. Just play around with these measurements and I know a crostata will become one of your favorites too.

I always keep some good vanilla ice cream in the freezer for times like this…

Now head to YOUR kitchen and you can be enjoying a dish like this for dessert tonight!