In the baking world of crisps, why do apples get to hog the spotlight? Blueberries don’t get the respect they deserve. Blueberry crisp is the perfect year round dessert. It’s especially perfect for summer because it’s quick, reliable and tasty and summer recipes should be all of those things. It takes less than ten minutes to assemble, has a few basic ingredients and bakes in the length of time it takes to enjoy a backyard barbecue dinner so it can be served warm from the oven with ice cream to cool it down just enough.
Summer is fresh blueberries time, and oh those sweet and plump and juicy berries are worth waiting for. The only thing finer than a fresh blueberry is a whole handful of them. But don’t make your crisp with them. Blueberry crisp tastes great whether you make it with fresh or frozen blueberries. Frozen blueberries are my choice no matter what the season because they’re more convenient and they cost less.
My go to recipe is from the King Arthur 200th Anniversary Cookbook (like a lot of my go to recipes are.)
Blueberry Crisp
4 cups fruit
3/4 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar (I reduce this amount, the crisp is very sweet)
3/4 cup oatmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
Preheat your oven to 375°F.
Place fruit in a lightly greased 8x8inch pan (I use my vintage 2 1/2 qt Corning French White casserole and I don’t thaw the berries first.)
Blend the dry ingredients. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the fruit. (Keep it light, don’t pack it down.)
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Serve warm with cream or ice cream or just as is.
King Arthur offers a slightly different blueberry crisp recipe on their website that has a few more ingredients. It also uses frozen berries, so I feel validated. It sounds good, worth trying maybe, but not for me. I like to keep it simple. I’ll stick with my vintage King Arthur recipe.
If you like baking and blueberries, you might enjoy a vintage classic: the Jordan Marsh blueberry muffin.
