Topless, Bottomless Summer Fruit Pie

When stone fruit and berries are abundant at the Farmer’s Market, we often bring home more fruit than we can eat in a week. Don’t worry, though. The extras don’t go to waste; they go into a Topless, Bottomless Summer Fruit Pie. As you might have guessed from the name, it’s really not a pie at all. It’s simply baked fruit. The charm of baked fruit lies in its simplicity, in the concentrated fruit juices that sing of summer. Baked fruit doesn’t even need a crust or streusel-y topping to be called dessert. And it’s a heck of a lot easier to make than a pie.

For those who can’t imagine baked fruit without a crust, a LU Cinnamon Sugar biscuit tucked alongside would surely satisfy crust cravings. We usually like to eat our baked fruit with Breyer’s Vanilla Ice Cream. This time, though, I’m holding out for breakfast: baked fruit and yogurt served on top of Belgian waffles. On second thought, why not combine the best of the three—ice cream, waffles and baked fruit?

Note: Arrowroot powder is similar to cornstarch and helps the juices from the fruit thicken during cooking. Cornstarch is a suitable substitute.

Ingredients

Mixed summer fruit, such as plums, cherries, blueberries, peaches, nectarines and/or apricots
Squeeze of lemon juice
Sprinkle of arrowroot powder or cornstarch
Sprinkle of ground cinnamon

Make the Topless, Bottomless Summer Fruit Pie

Preheat oven to 350F° and place oven rack in the middle. While oven preheats, wash, stem and remove the pits from the fruit. Slice larger fruit into smaller pieces. Place the prepared fruit in a 9” glass pie dish or other oven-safe dish. Squeeze lemon juice over the top (about 1 teaspoon), then sprinkle with arrowroot and cinnamon. Use your hands to mix the fruit and evenly coat it with the lemon juice. Bake until juices release from the fruit and begin to bubble, 35-45 minutes. Remove from oven. Cool slightly and serve over ice cream (or waffles. or both).