Bourbon Cherry Crisp

Preheat the oven and pit cherries: Preheat the oven to 350° F. Stem and pit the cherries by using a cherry pitter or cutting cherries in half and removing the pit. Discard the pits and place the cherries in a large bowl. Vivian Jao Macerate the cherry filling: In the bowl with the cherries add the sugar, cornstarch, salt, and bourbon. Stir to coat. Let the cherry mixture sit and macerate until juices release and it starts to get saucy, about 15 minutes. If your kitchen is cold you may not need to chill it for the full 15 minutes, if it's warm you might need the full chill time. Vivian Jao Make the streusel topping: While the cherries macerate make the streusel topping. In a large bowl add the flour, oats, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Toss together with your hands. Add the 10 tablespoons of cubed butter to the mixture. Squish the butter together with the dry ingredients by pressing it between your fingertips and your thumb. You will end up with some pea-sized pieces and others the size of a walnut. Gently toss in the almonds. It’s ok if they don’t completely mix in with the streusel. Chill the streusel in the refrigerator until the cherries have macerated for 15 minutes and you’ve transferred them to the pie plate. Vivian Jao Assemble the crisp: Transfer the cherry mixture to a deep dish pie plate or an 8x8 inch square baking dish. Dot the top with the remaining 1 tablespoon of cubed butter. Grab a small handful of the streusel topping squeezing it in your fist, to form larger clumps, then scatter it over the top of the cherries. Continue squeezing and scattering evenly over the cherries until you’ve used up all of the streusel. You will end up with both large and small clumps of streusel. Set the pie plate onto a rimmed baking sheet to catch any juices while the crisp bakes. Vivian Jao Vivian Jao Bake the crisp: Bake the crisp, until the topping is browned and cherry juices have bubbled through parts of the topping, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the crisp cool for about 10 minutes. Serve: Spoon the crisp onto plates while still warm and top with a scoop of ice cream.