I love cobblers, crisps, etc., but never make them. This one may change my mind. What can you say about a recipe that starts like this?

"...When I called her, she read me the recipe from a small black cook that contains, she says, the recipes that have no peer, the benchmark recipes. Willie's Crisp is part of this collection, and although I have no idea who Willie is, I do know that his is the only crisp I've ever had that was crisp. It is perfect on top of fruit or berries."

Preheat the oven to 375F. Have ready an 8 x 8-inch baking dish (no need to butter it). Put 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, the baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir to mix well. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the beaten egg. (Don't add the egg now unless you are going to bake this right away. The sugar will begin to melt, and the mixture won't crumble and spread properly.) Stir mixture with a fork. It should be crumbly; if it seems too dry, add a little more egg. Put the fruit or berries into another mixing bowl. Stir together the 2 tablespoons flour and sugar to taste. Add to the fruit and toss lightly to coat. Spoon fruit into the baking dish and spread evenly. Sprinkle the crisp mixture evenly over the top. Drizzle the melted butter evenly over the crisp mixture. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the topping is golden. Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Serves 9.

Per Serving: 325 calories, 3 g protein, 56 g carbohydrate, 11 g fat (7 g saturated), 51 mg cholesterol, 250 mg sodium, 2 g fiber.

Marion Cunningham, San Francisco Chronicle, 7/15/92.