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This Strawberry Bourbon Crisp is overflowing with sweet strawberries, strawberry jam, and a double amount of maple butter cookie-crisp on top. This easy fruit crisp is the perfect way to enjoy the late spring and summer strawberries. The fruit is sweet and juicy. While the topping is swirled with notes of brown butter and sweetened with warming maple (plus the smallest amount of brown sugar). It’s perfectly crisp and great with vanilla ice cream on top.
One of the many things I’ve been enjoying about traveling is creating recipes in a bulk format. When I’m home, I usually won’t have more than 2-5 recipes ready to share at the drop of a hat. My content has never been that planned out, and in general, I enjoy that creative freedom.
When I travel, however, I have to make a pretty good amount of recipes ahead of time in order to have new things to share. It’s always a bit of a struggle to get everything in. But I enjoy having time to really get excited about the upcoming recipes I’ll be sharing.
And I’ve been looking forward to sharing this Strawberry Bourbon Crisp for quite a while now. Just like I was excited about sharing last week’s strawberry pop-tarts.
This crisp is such a cute little pie, and of course, so delicious. This dessert would be perfect for Memorial Day this weekend.
The details are pretty easy
This is a quick three-step process. Start with the fruit. Fresh strawberries tossed together with strawberry jam (the secret!), maple syrup, bourbon, a small dash of cinnamon, and vanilla. Many people will add in some kind of citrus for a little acidity. But I wanted to keep this crisp extra sweet and rich so I went the vanilla route.
Add a touch of cornstarch to create a nice thick and juicy sauce.
The secret here is the strawberries, bourbon, and maple. The strawberries bake down and create the most incredible caramel-like sauce when combined with maple and bourbon.
Even without the crisp topping, the fruit alone is delish. But of course, that crisp topping adds that extra special touch.
For the topping, I really really wanted it to be more cookie-like with a nice crunch and not soggy in any way. The topping consists of flour, oats, cinnamon, a small amount of brown sugar, butter, and maple.
Sprinkle the crumble over the fruit, bake, and about an hour later you’ll have the perfect summer fruit crisp. The topping is so much like a crisp cinnamon oat cookie.
The secret is to add extra butter plus a drizzle of maple right to the top of the crisp towards the end of baking. This helps the topping to really CRISP and is extra delicious.
The butter and maple end up caramelizing. This creates a crisp that’s truly sweet, buttery, and just a little more special than all the rest.
And finally…make sure you add ice cream! A must with almost any fruit-based dessert, but especially a crisp. And especially during these warmer months of the year that we’re all so excited to be entering.
This is a classic dessert that can be baked up all summer long!
Looking for other fruit desserts? Here are some favorites:
Skillet Blueberry Bourbon Pandowdy
Cinnamon Maple Brown Butter Blackberry Peach Crisp
Skillet Strawberry Bourbon Cobbler
Lastly, if you make this Strawberry Bourbon Crisp. Be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Strawberry Bourbon Crisp
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 237 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 6 cups fresh or frozen strawberries, halved (about 3 pounds)
- 1/2 cup thick strawberry jam
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2-3 tablespoons bourbon (optional)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Topping
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold salted butter, cubed
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. 2. In a large bowl, toss together strawberries, strawberry jam, maple, cornstarch, cinnamon, bourbon, and vanilla. Spread the fruit out into a 10-12 inch baking dish or cast iron skillet. 3. To make the topping, combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Add 8 tablespoons butter and cut the butter into the dry ingredients using a fork or pastry cutter. Sprinkle over the fruit. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. 4. Remove the crisp from the oven, remove the foil, and arrange 4 tablespoons butter evenly on top. Drizzle the maple syrup over the butter. Bake another 20-30 minutes. If a crisper topping is desired, broil for 1 minute. 5. Let cool 20-30 minutes, then serve with ice cream.
Notes
Crisp Not Thickening: If your crisp is soupy, continue baking another 20 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Alternately, you can use additional cornstarch, but with 2 tablespoons already called for mine always comes out pretty thick.
I made this and subbed some of the strawberries for rhubarb and raspberries, so good!!! Turned out delicious and beautiful. Did have to pop it back in for a little longer to thicken it up, but that’s probably from my substitutions.
Hey Addie,
Happy Friday!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and your feedback, so glad it was delish! xT
I’m going to make this, this weekend! Do you have tips for using frozen strawberries?
Hi Freya,
You could follow the recipe as written, the frozen strawberries should work nicely for you! I hope you love this recipe! xT
This was a real hit in our house! My daughter did not want a birthday cake but something fruity. It was the perfect amount of fruit and sweetness. This recipe is a absolute keeper!
Hi Karen,
Happy Monday!!☀️🌊 I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear that it was a hit! xT
Made this for Father’s Day brunch tomorrow. I made sure to read the instructions several times before and during the baking process. I also read all the comments ahead. Mine unfortunately came out soupy to the point it started boiling over the dish and on to the bottom of my oven. I did broil for a couple mins at the end and unfortunately the topping does not resemble yours in the photo. I just took it out the oven I am going to let it sit for a few mins and throw it back under the broiler .
Hi Tiffany,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback! So sorry to hear it was so liquidy for you, it really could just have been from all of the fresh berries. Did you follow the notes for thickening? I would try popping it over a baking sheet as well just so it doesn’t boil over:) I hope you love this recipe! xx
Hi! Did you use fresh or frozen strawberries when you made this (in the photo)?
If using frozen do they need to be thawed first?
I used fresh strawberries:) You do not need to thaw the frozen berries if you chose to use them. I hope you love this recipe! xx
I made this for a dinner party and it was a big hit! I added 3 stalks of rhubarb (slightly pre-cooked). I broiled it a bit to brown the top and then re-heated before serving to warm up and to firm up. Obviously vanilla ice cream was involved!
Hi Jennifer,
Happy Sunday!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for making it and your review!! 🍓🫐🍉
Made this recipe during the weekend for a friend’s BBQ. It was amazing! I followed the recipe as is using 3 tbsp of bourbon and baked it in the cast iron skillet. In my oven it took the full 30 minutes and I did put it on broil for 1 minute only to crisp it a bit more. Served it with vanilla bean ice cream. Am planning to make it again next weekend after I told another bourbon loving friend about it.
Thanks so much Jodi!! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear the dessert was a hit! xT
Can I make this ahead of time? So far I have the dry ingredients in the topping but stopped.
Hi Joanne,
Sure, I don’t see why that wouldn’t work for you! Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
Wondering if you could sub in some rhubarb for some of the berries?
Hi Donna,
Sure, that would work well for you! Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
Could I substitute blueberries and blueberry jam for strawberries?
Hi Sharon,
Totally, sounds like a great idea! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
Is there a difference with the cook time and/or corn starch measurements if I use frozen strawberries, or is it the same?
Hi Robin,
You should be able to follow the recipe as is without any adjustments:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx
What idea do you have to substitute for maple syrup?
I’m making this tonight, and thought we had some, but alas we only have the fake stuff
Hey Kyle,
I would use honey in place of the maple syrup. Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT