Recipe: Writers’ Retreat Berry Crisp

I chose to make a berry crisp for my dinner night on our writers’ retreat, not just because it was easy, but because it just sounded really good. I love berry crisp, and this is a great recipe.

I did as much as I could ahead of time, mixing the dry ingredients for the berry filling, and the crisp ingredients and transporting them in ziplock bags. That made putting the dessert together very easy when the time came. I bought the frozen berries, and vanilla ice cream there (what’s a crisp without ice cream?).

Berry Crisp

serves 4-6

Berry Filling:

2 t. granulated sugar

2 T. cornstarch

3 C. berries (thawed)

Crisp:

1 C. old fashioned oats

½ C. packed brown sugar

¼ C. all-purpose flour

1 t. cinnamon

¼ t. ground ginger

¼  t. salt

6 T. cold butter

Preheat oven to 375°.

For filling, combine sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add berries and toss to coat evenly.

For bottom layer and topping, combine oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, sugar, ginger, and salt in a bowl. Cut in cold butter using a pastry blender or two knives. Then mix with a fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Pat half of the oat mixture on the bottom of a 2-qt. glass pan. Top with berry mixture. Crumble remaining oat mixture on top of the berries.

Bake 20-25 min. till topping is a golden brown and berries are bubbly around the edges.