America's Test Kitchen

All-American Fruit Desserts

In a world overshadowed by blueberry, apple, and pumpkin fillings, cherry pie is a vividly fruity pastry worthy of revival. We perfect our own recipe, then move to the stovetop, where we prepare the ultimate Skillet Apple Crisp. Sweet Cherry Pie Cherry season is a mere blip on the summer-produce radar. For a juicy pie with the best fruity flavor, we’d have to look beyond the cherry tree. Skillet Apple Crisp Apple crisp invites a devil-may-care attitude: Slice up any old fruit, sprinkle on a topping, and bake. Perhaps that’s why it’s never on anyone’s A-list. Ice Cream Scoops Almost every ice cream scoop can do the job—but we demanded ease and comfort. Supermarket Vanilla Ice Cream Twenty-one Cook’s Illustrated staff members sampled eight national and regional brands of vanilla ice cream plain in a blind tasting, rating each on vanilla flavor, texture, and overall appeal.