Cranberries are such a festive fruit. I love their bitter tartness and their cheerful red color. They are the most Christmassy of fruits in my opinion. The smell, taste, and sight of them transport me to my childhood and remind me of my grandma's house on Christmas Eve. I think they should be celebrated in a lot more ways than just once-a-year cranberry sauce. They do not need to be masked with apple or pear (though I love those combos). Cranberries should be the star of their own show like they are in these adorable cranberry rosemary crisps.
Rosemary and Cranberries: A Love Story
Many years ago I started adding a sprig of rosemary to my cranberry sauce and it was love at first bite. I've been making it that way ever since and you can find that recipe in my Thanksgiving Side Dishes post. Since then I've made cranberry and rosemary tassies, cranberry rosemary scones (coming soon!), christmas mimosas with clementine and cranberry juice and rosemary. I've also made a few cocktails with, you guessed it, cranberry and rosemary. The flavors are so complimentary and SO festive and clearly I can't get enough. So for these crisps I add very finely chopped rosemary to the filling as well as to the crumble. I promise it's good and I promise it's not overpowering. Cranberries are assertive and they can handle the piney fragrance and flavor of rosemary.
These cranberry rosemary crisps are perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas or any fall/winter celebration.
You can bake them in even smaller dishes if you want and they'd be perfect on a dessert buffet. Or you can bake one large crisp if you don't have ramekins or don't want to fuss with the little dishes. I just love the way they look as individual cranberry crisps served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a little sprig of rosemary. Just so cute!
These are a great prep-ahead recipe too. You can get them all ready to bake and then stash them in the fridge for a day or two before baking. They simply must be served warm, so make sure to toss them in the oven about an hour before you're ready to enjoy them.
I hope you'll give these a try and let me know how you like them. Wishing you and yours a very happy holiday season. xo - Anita
Cranberry Rosemary Crisps
The perfect balance of tart, sweet, and crispy. These Cranberry Rosemary Crisps are beautiful and festive with a hint of rosemary in the filling and topping.
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 individual crisps
Ingredients
for the filling:
- 12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup flour
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
- ¼ cup orange juice or cranberry juice
for the topping:
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ½ cup flour
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 stick soft butter
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking tray with a sheet of parchment or foil.
- Combine topping ingredients in a bowl and either with a fork or your fingers, mix and mash until you have a sticky crumble that holds together.
- Combine filling ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
- Divide filling evenly between 6 4-ounce ramekins and divide topping evenly on top of filling. I like to pinch together little clumps of the topping and really pile them on, pressing down slightly.
- At this point you can stash them in the refrigerator, covered, for a couple days or you can bake them right away in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes until filling is bubbly and top is browned and crisp.
- Serve warm with vanilla bean ice cream or freshly whipped cream.
Notes
Feel free to make these larger or smaller depending on your preference. You can use tiny ramekins or mason jars or you can bake the whole thing in a pie dish or a cast iron skillet.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: dessert, holidays
- Method: baking
elle says
Just wondering if I can leave out the rosemary? thank you
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Yes of course! It will not impact the texture at all just the flavor 🙂