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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 berries. 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 easy strawberry crisp recipe for quite a while now. Just like I was excited about sharing last week’s strawberry pop-tarts.
This fresh strawberry 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, like lemon juice, 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 strawberry mixture bakes down and creates the most incredible caramel-like sauce when combined with maple and bourbon.
Even without the crumb topping, the fruit alone is delish. But of course, that crisp topping adds that extra special touch of flavors.
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 strawberry dessert. 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, golden brown, 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 a big scoop of vanilla 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.
Watch the How-To Reel
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.
This post was originally published on May 27, 2022
You show blackberries in the picture, but not in the recipe…are they to be included?
Love, your recipes!!!
Loni, I think they’re extra seedy strawberries. I thought blackberries are first too.
Hi Loni,
There are no blackberries in the pictures, just strawberries:) I hope this recipe turns out amazing for you, let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
I am making this soon! Two questions – 1. How did you chop the strawberries? Thin slices, chunks, diced small? Your pictures look like they were chopped but left pretty big. I imagine they shrink a lot in baking. 2. Would this work in a 9-inch deep-dish pie dish? I don’t have anything bigger. Thanks!
Hey there,
I pretty much chopped them in half, you can refer to the photo above:) Yes, the deep 9 inch dish would work. Please let me know if you give it a try, I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
Tastes delicious! I had to bump my heat to 425 for about 8 mins to get the topping crisp. It was too soggy otherwise. It was a hit!
I had same problem with getting it crisp & my oven runs hot so not sure what the problem is with this recipe. Any recommendations are welcome
( & I followed the exact quantities of the ingredients)
Hi there,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try! What rack did you have the crisp on? Did you bake with foil and then remove for the last 20 minutes? Let me know how I can help! xTieghan
Which rack should this be placed on?
I had the same issue with the crust not being crispy so put under the broiler to finish off.
This was absolutely delicious!
I just use the middle rack:) Nothing wrong with popping the broiler on for a sec, it’s a great way to crisp it up!
Hey Jen,
Happy Sunday! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback!! Love to hear that it was a winner:) xxT
Do you think cognac might be a good substitute instead of bourbon? It’s just what I already have on hand. Or would it be better to just omit the bourbon altogether?
Hey Addie,
I would probably just omit it:) I hope this recipe turns out amazing for you, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
If we are using frozen sliced berries, should they be thawed first? ? I am making this for friends tomorrow night. Can’t wait to try it!
I should have also asked – if I thaw them, do I discard any liquid or use the liquid in the recipe as well? ☺️
Hey Michele,
You can leave them frozen:) Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Thank you so much Tieghan! ? I made it last with frozen berries and it was delicious! I didn’t add in the jam, but it was fab without it. The bourbon and vanilla together with the berries is a perfect combination for summer. I didn’t cover it tightly with the foil but loosely as it started to brown – this one will making regular appearances this summer! I am in Ottawa, Canada and our locally grown fresh berries start in June – really looking forward to trying it with fresh too. ????
I am such a big fan – thrilled that you responded so quickly, you have made my week!! Cheers! ?
Ohh so glad to hear this, thanks so much for your kind message Michele:)
Could the oats be replaced with GF oats, and the flour with GF flour, to make this GF?
Hey Ashly,
Sure, that will work well for you! Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Made this today with GF oats and Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Baking Flour, and it turned out great!
Thanks for sharing Niki!!
We have Vegan Guests. Do you think this would work with “vegan butter” ?
Hey Regina,
That should be just fine for you to do:) Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
I don’t love oats in my crisp toppings. Should I sub an equal amount of flour or just leave it out?
Thanks!
Hey Adrienne,
Sure, an equal amount of flour would also work for you! Let me know how the recipe turns out, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Yes, Blackberries update please and salt?
As others asked can we sub other berries?
Hey Leslie,
I just used strawberries in this recipe, but yes you can totally use other berries here as well, that will be great!! I added the measurement for salt:) I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
This sounds lush. Is it just strawberries or blackberries too please? Xx
I read in the first paragraph that there were blackberries in it too and then I didn’t see any listed in the ingredients or steps.
Hi Brooks,
That was a typo, I just used strawberries in this recipe:) Let me know if you give it a try! xxT
Hey Kelly-Jane,
Just the strawberries:) Let me know if you give the recipe a try! xT
Recipe directions call for salt, but the ingredient list does not list how much. Also, I am assuming that you add the syrup that is called for in the berry section to the berries, although it doesn’t say to.
Hey Vi,
Thanks for pointing those out, I fixed the recipe:) 1/4 teaspoon of salt and yes, add the maple syrup into step 2! Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Would this recipe work using rhubarb instead of strawberries ?
Hey Maria,
Sure, I think that would be great to use! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope it turns out amazing for you! xTieghan
Do you think a butter tart liquor would be a good substitute for the bourbon? Thanks
Hey Jenn,
Sure, I don’t see why not, the bourbon is also optional so you can just omit it if you like! Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xxTieghan
This sounds delicious. If I sub blueberries when they come in season, should I used the same amount?
Hi Dru,
Totally, that would work well for you! Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope it’s delish! xT
What amount of blackberries does the recipe call for? It is in the description, but not in the list of ingredients.
Measurement on blackberries??
Please give measurement on blackberries
There are just strawberries in this recipe, no blackberries:) Let me know if you give it a try!
Hi there,
No blackberries in this recipe, just strawberries:) xTieghan
Hey Pamela,
There are no blackberries in the recipe, just strawberries, sorry for any confusion! I hope this recipe turns out amazing for you, let me know if you give it a try! xx