Berry Crisp

After a very filling lunch today of winter vegetable chili, Aric and I were in the mood for something simple but satisfying. Pair that with this being the first snow day of the season in Dayton, OH, I figured something warm would fit the bill. So I turned to a favorite that works well as a breakfast dish, a dessert, or in this case, a tasty dinner in front of the fire. I am referring to a gooey bowl of berry crisp. Once again, it is a Williams-Sonoma recipe (honestly, I am not getting paid by them to promote their stuff, I just really adore their company) and it is pretty straight forward to make.

A couple notes: the recipe calls for pecans but feel free to pick and choose nuts of your choosing. Tonight I had walnuts and cashews on hand so I used those. I also saw a bag of shredded coconut and threw some of that in too. It is pretty flexible to what you are in the mood for. Second note is the butter. I didn't have time to do this tonight but Aric's mom actually told me about this trick. If you get a stick of butter really cold, you can get those pea size pieces that they always talk about in recipes without a whole lot of effort that we are all used to - simply grate it on a grater and voila! Pea size pieces. Brilliant.

Without further ado, here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into
    1-inch pieces
• 3/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup honey, plus more for drizzling
• 4 cups mixed berries
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbs. cornstarch
• 1 1/2 tsp. water

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 375ºF.

In a bowl, stir together the oats, brown sugar, pecans, flour and salt. Using your fingers or 2 knives, cut in the butter until no clumps remain. Set the topping aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt and the 1/4 cup honey. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

In a saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the berries, granulated sugar, cornstarch and water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the berries release their juices, 5 to 10 minutes. Increase the heat to medium and simmer until thickened, 5 to 10 minutes more.

Transfer the berry mixture to a ceramic loaf pan and sprinkle the topping over the fruit. Set the dish on a baking sheet and bake until the filling is bubbling and the topping is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Spoon the crisp into 2 bowls, dividing evenly. Drizzle with the yogurt mixture and more honey.

 

Serves 2.