Upside Down Cherry Pistachio Crumble

Imagine this: just baked fresh Michigan cherries topped with a crispy pistachio and oat crumble.  You can taste just a hint of lemon as you savor a spoonful of this warm dish poured over creamy vanilla ice cream.  Too good to be true? NO WAY.  In fact, I'm eating it right now and it's very much real...and not too bad on the sweet indulges scale.  Here's how to make it your next sweet treat:

What you'll need:

Unsalted butter for greasing pan

5 cups FRESH pitted cherries (~2 lb whole)

1/2 cup (scant) plus 1 tbsp (scant) light brown sugar

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice 

1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp all-purpose flour (healthier alternative: whole wheat flour)

2/3 cup shelled, unsalted pistachios

1/2 cup rolled oats

4 walnuts, shelled

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

4 tbsp unsalted reduced fat butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Use the unsalted butter to grease a 9" pie pan.  Begin pitting five cups of FRESH cherries (cut them with a knife and pull out the pit with your fingers - this may get slightly messy - but you're baking so it's okay).  Mix the pitted cherries with the lemon juice, 1 tbsp flour, and 1 tbsp (scant: slightly less than 1 tbsp) sugar and pour into the pie pan.  If not already shelled, shell the pistachios and rinse them (to rinse the salt off if salted).  Combine the pistachios, walnuts, oats, nutmeg, cinnamon, remaining flour, and sugar (scant!) in a blender and pulse until finely chopped.  Mix in the melted butter and sprinkle on top of the cherries.  Bake for 25 minutes and enjoy (with reduced fat vanilla ice cream if you're looking for an extra delicious treat!).  

I love this dessert because it is simple, homemade, and fresh.  Yes, there is sugar, but you are in complete control of how much is added (add less if your sweet tooth isn't too sweet!) and it is preservative (and any other yucky additives) free!  So let yourself enjoy without feeling guilty! 

Recipe tweeked from SELF Magazine!