Another berry recipe this week, because ohmigosh berries!! We had a BBQ on our friend’s terrace over the weekend, and when I was thinking of what kind of dessert to bring, I couldn’t think of anything better than a berry crisp. What a great excuse to use up some of summer’s best offerings and enjoy them in NYC’s version of a backyard. It was a beautiful night with old friends full of lots and lots of wine and plenty of cheese, and was capped off with this gorgeous crisp. This is what summer was made for!
I baked most of the crisp in a large pie plate to bring to the BBQ, but I couldn’t resist making my own mini crisp to photograph and eat ravenously between photos. I bought this mini Lodge cast iron skillet on a whim awhile ago, and I must admit I don’t find many uses for it, but I think today’s use is as good as it’s going to get. Forget fried eggs, I am going to make mini berry crisps for myself with this skillet all the time from now on! Baking a big crisp to save for sharing with friends at a party and making a small leftover one to photograph and mutilate for the sake of pretty photos is the perfect situation for any food blogger. It’s always sad to break into a cake or pie for photographs when later bringing to share with friends or family, so this is the perfect solution. Not that many of my friends really complain when they get homemade cake or pie in any form, but the presentation is important to me!
In terms of pie, crisps, tarts, whatever, this is my ideal combination of fruit + topping. I really loaded up on the oatmeal cookie crumble here because I mean, it’s oatmeal cookie crumble. Sure, the berries are delicious and sweet and juicy and lovely, but I LOVE a big crumble to fruit ratio! This crumble topping is just SO, SO good. It’s got a good dose of cinnamon and plenty of brown sugar to make it the perfect complement to the berries. I personally loved this most straight from the fridge (we all know how I feel about warm fruit…) but even at room temperature or slightly warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream, I was in heaven! This crisp was the perfect size for six hungry (and slightly tipsy) friends, and I think it would be absolutely perfection for your next summer BBQ. Load up on berries and celebrate all of summer’s greatest flavors.
Berry Crisp with Oatmeal Cookie Topping
Recipe adapted from Crazy for Crust
Ingredients:
for the oatmeal cookie topping:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of salt
12 tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cubed
for the berry crisp:
1-1/2 cups blueberries
1-1/2 cups blackberries
1-1/2 cups raspberries
1 cup strawberries, chopped
1/2 cup sugar
1-1/2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp all purpose flour
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9" pie plate with non-stick spray.
Make the cookie crumble by whisking together the flour, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and use a pastry cutter or your fingers to cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
In another large bowl, combine the blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries. Add the sugar, lemon juice, and flour and toss gently until evenly distributed. Place the mixture in the pie plate and pour the crumble over top. It may look like tons of crumble, potentially too much, but don't worry - it will be perfect!
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the top is just slightly browned. Allow the crisp to cool down at room temperature for at least 20-30 minutes before serving. It can be served warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream (duh!).
I love any type of baked fruit dessert.. ESPECIALLY good crisp. Love your oatmeal cooking topping too, I have to try it!
Love your food photography and details, really helps,
thank you so much for sharing
Looks nice,…might try using the betty crockè oatmeal cookie mix to make it quicker and easier. Thanks!