Three desserts are sitting on a table with a measuring cup in the background.
I think my favorite  cobbler was a recipe I developed with Chef Joshua Mackintosh for an ACF student chef  competition. We used raspberries, blueberries, strawberries & dark chocolate chips for the filling. It was delicious. Josh came in second place...  hmmm  \I'm not sure I agreed with that evaluation!    hahaha
A group of chefs are posing for a picture with a man in a suit

Cobblers & Crisps

I'm a fan of warm fruit cobbler with vanilla ice cream on top! It's a perfect, dessert!


St Andrew's Cafe at the CIA, often served  a seasonal, fruit crisp on the menu with low fat ice cream or yogurt on top. The crisp generally had less butter and additional, toasted walnuts and seeds in the topping. We served a smaller size portion to reduce calories.  The guests loved the crisps!

I think apple crisp was the most popular; the apples were sautéed in a very small amount of butter and sugar, then flavored with cinnamon and vanilla.


I grow blueberries, strawberries, gooseberries, currants, rhubarb etc.. in my yard. I use the fruit wood for smoking in my Big Green Egg.

I enjoy baking crips, cobblers, etc..  with the ripe fruit.


When I cook with rhubarb, I try to pick younger, thinner stalks so I don't need to peel them. If I wait and pick the fat, juicy stalks, I carefully peel the outer layer, slice the stalks thinly and always add something sweet-rhubarb is quite sour.

Apparantly the leaves are poisonous so I simply let them compost into the soil.

Prep Time: 30 min

Cooking Time: 25 min

Yield: 4 portions


Ingredients

Topping

4 Tbsp.    Butter

2 Tbsp ​    Sugar

4 Tbsp ​    AP Flour, sifted

1/2 tsp     Cinnamon

1 Cup        Granola

3 Tbsp.    Almonds, sliced

 

Filling

1 Cup       Rhubarb, rinsed, sliced thin

1 Cup       Blueberries, rinsed & no stems

4 Tbsp ​   Sugar

1 Tbsp.    AP Flour

1/2 tsp.    Orange zest

1 tsp​​        Vanilla​



How to Prepare the Crisp

Step 1

Rinse and then slice the rhubarb thinly.






Place the rhubarb, blueberries, sugar, flour, orange zest and vanilla into a bowl, whisk together.




You can also add a tsp of Grande Marnier if you like as well.

Step 2

Grate the cold butter into a mixing bowl, add the sugar, flour and cinnamon and blend together with a fork.









Add the granola and toasted almonds, blend evenly.



Step 3

Place the fruit filling into a ceramic dish, you can butter the dish but I don't find that it's necessary.








Top with the granola crips and place into a 350°F oven.

Bake for 20 minutes until nicely browned on top.




You can enjoy warm with ice cream, yogurt, whipped cream-but I love having this crisp for breakfast.

By Tom Griffiths December 17, 2025
Butter, spices, and traditional family recipes bring us together in the simplest—and most meaningful—ways. This is a cookie my mother baked at Easter time. The lemon sugar crust is delicious... perfect with coffee or tea.
By Tom Griffiths December 17, 2025
Butter, spices, and traditional family recipes bring us together in the simplest—and most meaningful—ways. Christmas cookies are more than nostalgic treats; they’re a celebration of childhood memories, and maybe cookies help to make us all a little more patient, thoughtful & friendly each holiday season. I remember driving with my father to the city each Christmas to pick up Aunt Flora. She would send us out with decorative plates of homemade, Italian Christmas cookies to deliver to the local relatives. It was always snowing-we would spend a few minutes visiting each family, have a few cookies and a glass of sweet wine or coffee. My mother and aunts began baking cookies the day after Thanksgiving. They filled the freezer with shoe boxes of cookies lined with wax paper for protection... frozen cookies are pretty delicious!
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I taught garde manger for years at the CIA... it was one of my favorite classes. I love caviar, foie gras, preparing hors d' oeuvres, decorative platters and especially forcemeats. And yes... I love making watermelon carvings too!
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Butter, spices, and traditional family recipes bring us together in the simplest—and most meaningful—ways. Christmas cookies are more than nostalgic treats; they’re a celebration of childhood memories, and maybe cookies help to make us all a little more patient, thoughtful & friendly each holiday season. I remember driving with my father to the city each Christmas to pick up Aunt Flora. She would send us out with decorative plates of homemade, Italian Christmas cookies to deliver to the local relatives. It was always snowing-we would spend a few minutes visiting each family, have a few cookies and a glass of sweet wine or coffee. My mother and aunts began baking cookies the day after Thanksgiving. They filled the freezer with shoe boxes of cookies lined with wax paper for protection... frozen cookies are pretty delicious!
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