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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.
Omg. This is delicious. Made a half recipe for a party of four and we had a tiny bit left over for a delicious treat the next day! I did 1.1/2 times the topping. Can’t get enough crumble!
Hey Charlene,
Thanks so much for your comment! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
I made this last night for a bbq. It was delicious! Everyone raved about it! I did omit the bourbon I didn’t have and I made it with gluten free oats and flour.
Hi Jenna,
Thanks so much for your comment! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
I made this for my family yesterday and it was perfection! I cut the filling recipe in half because I didn’t have enough strawberries, but made the full amount of the crisp topping. It was a hit, even with my picky teen. Thanks for another great recipe!
Hi Kari,
Thanks so much for your comment! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
This was delicious! I only had 2 lbs of strawberries, so I used that and it wasn’t soupy at all. I covered it for the first half of baking and then uncovered like it says in the recipe and it was perfect! Will definitely be making this again!
Hey Rachel,
Thanks so much for your comment! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
Should frozen strawberries be thawed first?
Hi Linda,
Nope, you can leave them frozen. Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
I made this exactly as the recipe instructed, and it came out perfect!! I’m not sure why people are saying soupy.. maybe as soon as you remove it from the oven? But I’d call that lava ? once it’s set, I wouldn’t want it thicker personally. I used fresh strawberries. I think it probably sat on the stove cooling for about 20 or 30 minutes before digging in, and it was perfect. I made it for my sisters birthday and everyone loved it!
Hey Tara,
Fantastic!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe out and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xxT
This was fantastic! It is tart and sweet and absolutely perfect dessert for Memorial Day weekend.
Hi there,
Fantastic!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe out and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xxT
I read the reviews that the crisp was too soupy so I did make some changes. I left out the bourbon, used sugar rather than maple syrup in the filling and added an extra teaspoon of cornstarch. I only had blackberry jam so I used that instead. I let it rest for 30 minutes after coming out of the oven. The filling was perfectly jammy and sweet!
The only change to the crumble was to add extra oats. I baked at 350 for 20 minutes covered and 25 minutes uncovered to make sure the crumble was crunchy and browned. We loved it with a big scoop of vanilla icecream.
Hi Tyra,
Fantastic!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe out and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Thanks for sharing the adjustments you made and what worked well for you:) xxT
Ok! This was DELICIOUS! I read the comments regarding it being soupy and was concerned about that so I cooked it
Uncovered the first 30 minutes and i cooked it on convection bake for the second half. Perfect! I think the only change I might make is to double the crumble next time?
Hey Mary,
Fantastic!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe out and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you:) xxT
Y’all are making me nervous! I’m getting ready to make this for company tonight. I am not going to cover it. I’ve never covered a cobbler or crisp before and am hoping this will keep it from being soupy. Any other tips?
Hi Vicki,
I hope the recipe turned out for you, let me know! xTieghan
After reading the comments, I made a couple adjustments and the result was perfect! First, since a few people mentioned it being soupy, I used 3 Tbsp of cornstarch (instead of 2). And second, after cooking uncovered at 425 for 10 minutes, I also turned the broiler on low for 2 minutes to get the top to brown a bit. And third, I used 3 lbs of strawberries ** cut in half ** (not “sliced”), in a deep-dish 9-inch pie plate.
The result was perfect – not soupy, but more like a nice gloppy crisp that went perfectly with ice cream. And that hint of bourbon added a super tasty depth.
It was very tasty… 😉
Hi there,
Fantastic!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe out and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xxT
Hey there,
Fantastic!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe out and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you:) xxT
My end result wasn’t really soupy but the top didn’t crisp, which was disappointing. I tried finishing it off in the broiler with hopes of it crisping up a bit but it just sort of burnt the still soft topping. Smells and tastes awesome though. I’ll try again using a different (larger) baking dish and maybe less topping?
Hi Ashleigh,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try and sharing your feedback. I would try removing the foil earlier next time so the top can crisp up for you. I hope this helps!! xTieghan
Mine also came out soupy and even tried to cook longer. Tasted great though!
Hi Jessica,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback! Sorry to hear it was soupy for you as well! xTieghan
I followed the altered recipe directions with the cornstarch and used fresh berries, but it was still much too soupy by the end of the prescribed cooking time. I cooked for much longer than suggested and under higher heat near the end to try to crisp the top. Unfortunately, the longer cooking time made the strawberries more mushy so it was not ideal. What if it was just cooked uncovered the entire time? I also wonder if it ultimately needs less liquid and/or maybe more “crumble” on top? Maybe omitting the jam (so you don’t lose the flavor of the bourbon and vanilla and maple?) might help with less “soup”?
Disclaimer: I’ve never had an issue with an HBH recipe before so it’s no big deal, but I wanted to post just to share my experience. Thanks! 🙂
Hi there! Yes, try cooking it uncovered and using 2 tablespoons bourbon. I don’t think it’s the jam that is the issue. And you can of course make more crumble for the top. I’d double the recipe!! So sorry your having issues with this one 🙁 xT
So… The recipe seen here is different from the recipe that you click the link on to print. The recipe you print mentions blackberries in description but there are no blackberries included in the actual recipe ingredients. The recipe you don’t print, but is viewed here has no blackberries but has strawberry jam. We weren’t sure what to do so no blackberries and no strawberry jam, so no idea how this is going to turn out but your proofreader needs to work harder… Fingers crossed
Follow up to above. Not crisp a soupy mess. Printed recipe version also missing the salt mentioned here in ingredient list but we assumed when it was mentioned in the mixing instructions that it was referring to the salted butter. I’m pretty sure the lack of strawberry jam had something to do with it being soupy. So depending on which recipe you follow (the print link version or the one here) you’ll get very different results.
I’ve never had a half baked harvest recipe fail before so I guess it was due. Just be very careful which recipe you follow – don’t use the version from the print link.
I just made this and the topping is just a soggy mess even after cranking the heat to try and toast. I think it shouldn’t have been covered at all.
Hi Lindsay,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try and sharing your feedback. Did you try baking it a bit longer to allow the topping to crisp up? Let me know! xx
Just a heads up, step #3 doesn’t specify adding foil to the top for the first bake.
Thanks for pointing that out Lauren!!
I was going to say this! I didn’t cover mine bc it didn’t say to until after 30min when it says remove the foil. Hoping it still works out! Looks yummy though 🙂
Hope it’s delish!!
Sorry to hear the recipe didn’t work for you. I added 2 tablespoons cornstarch to the ingredients to help with the soupiness that some are experiencing.
Hi Cheryl,
Thanks so much for your feedback! My mom and I do all the editing daily so that we can provide FREE recipes:) The blackberries are a typo, you can follow the recipe and ingredients listed with all strawberries, but if you want to switch up your berries by all means this will work with any berry you enjoy! Let me know how the recipe turns out! xTieghan