Muscadine Crisp

A friend gave us some muscadines that she picked at her parents’ home in North Alabama. The day before, we had also received some in our market basket. Immediately I began to brainstorm ideas for using them. Earlier this year, I saw a chef on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives who serves grape pie at his Napa Valley restaurant, so I decided to try making a crisp with these very Southern grapes. Muscadines have very thick skins, so precooking is required for softening. (I added a chopped apple to provide body to the fruit mixture once the grapes had cooked down.) For the seeds, cut each one in half and use a knife to remove them. Andy wasn’t a big fan of this, but he didn’t grow up eating muscadines like I did in Grannie’s pasture. My friend and I thought the crisp was tasty. Enjoy!

Muscadine Crisp
1 pint muscadines, cut in half and seeds removed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 Granny Smith apple, cut into chunks
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup whole or chopped pecans
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 tsp. allspice

1. Combine muscadines and next 3 ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until grapes soften and juice becomes a syrup. Pour into a baking dish.
2. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients. Sprinkle over muscadine mixture.
3. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly.