Cherry Almond Crumble

Gosh, another dessert with fruit. I can't resist. Aren't you loving the black cherries in the market? I confess, I do hate pitting them though; I even wear plastic gloves and an apron (unheard of for me) 'cause they stain so. But desserts like this one make it well worth the time and mess. Imagine my surprise to find I had all the ingredients for this dish already in my kitchen! That never happens. You're going to love the crunchy topping (always the first thing I eat) and the dark brown sugar in the cherry mixture provides some lovely depth in flavor.

Cherry Almond Crumble
From Rustic Fruit Desserts via Hannah from Honey and Jam

Ingredients:

Crumble:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted


Cherry Filling:
1 1/2 pounds fresh cherries, pitted
1/3 cup dark brown sugar (more or less, depending on your taste)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350. Butter whichever baking dishes you are going to use. I used individual oval ones.
Mix the flour, oats, brown sugar, almonds and salt together in a bowl. Add the butter, and with your hands, crumble it together until well mixed.
Mix together the cherries, dark brown sugar, almond extract and cornstarch.
Pour the cherry mixture into the buttered dishes and then crumble the topping over the cherries. Bake 45  minutes or until the topping is golden brown and you can see the filling bubbling around the sides.