Wild Blueberry Crisp

Become loyal to your innermost truth. Follow the way when all others abandon it. Walk the path of your own heart.
— Unknown

I made this crisp a few days ago, with the blueberries leftover from last year's late harvest. If you want to see exactly where my berries came from see this post from last year, and this one from last week. There's some gorgeous Alaskan photos!

I'm not at all ashamed to admit that I ate half this pan of crisp the day I made it, and the other half the next day. This is why I don't post a lot of dessert recipes on the blog, in case you ever wondered. Dreams of this crisp still fill my head at night.

Produce On Parade - Wild Blueberry Crisp

I'm staunchly anti-cobbler. Not sure why, really. You know how sometimes you just plain and simple don't like something when you know you should but you just don't. It's like that. I'm the same way with root beer floats and donuts. Every few years I will try a root beer float to see if I'll like it. Nope. Still hatin' on them for 20 straight years. Crisp is far superior to cobbler in every way. 

However, crisp can be a very fastidious and personal dessert. It might not seem that way with regards to how easy it is to throw to together, I know what you're thinking. But some people like it dry, and some like it soupy and sloppy (like me). Some like it sweet, and some not-so-sweet. I love the tartness of a little lemon juice to cut through the flavors, but others won't have it. It really depends on your preference.

Then there's the ice cream debate. I'm in the no-ice-cream crowd. Ice cream should be consumed all on it's own...in my opinion. 

To make thing worse, berry crisp can have a dramatically different texture if made with frozen berries or non-frozen. A different flavor, if using supermarket berries or wild. Whether the berries are super ripe and sweet, or underripe and tart will influence the taste. And finally, whether or not the berries are juicy will affect the amount of liquid in the crisp. Yep, it can definitely be a roll of the dice sometimes. 

Let's be real for a second though. Blueberries, maple syrup, oats, butter, pecans, and spices all mixed together will never ever be a bad thing, no matter how it turns out. You need this delightful end-of-summer crisp. There's even a little flax thrown in. Vegans are obsessed with flax. 

Produce On Parade - Wild Blueberry Crisp
Produce On Parade - Wild Blueberry Crisp
Produce On Parade - Wild Blueberry Crisp
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Wild Blueberry Crisp
A fresh, wild blueberry crisp with lemon, maple syrup, flax, and pecans. You won't be able to resist it's deliciousness!
Ingredients
  • Non-stick cooking spray
  • 1 lb. 4 oz. frozen, wild blueberries (keep frozen)
  • 3 Tbsp. ground flax seed, divided
  • 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
  • 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
  • ½ tsp. vanilla extract
  • ½ cup whole wheat white flour
  • ½ cup packed brown sugar
  • ½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats, dry
  • ¼ cup whole pecans
  • ¼ tsp. kosher salt
  • ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
  • dash of freshly ground nutmeg
  • ¼ cup chilled vegan butter, rough chopped
Instructions
Spray an 8x8 inch square glass baking dish with a nonstick cooking spray and preheat oven to 375 F.In a large bowl, add the frozen blueberries through and including the vanilla, using 2 Tbsp. of the ground flax. Mix well and spread evenly in the baking dish.In a food processor, add the flour through and including the nutmeg, using the remaining 1 Tbsp. of the ground flax. Pulse a few times to mix. Now, add the butter and pulse several times until it resembles a coarse meal and the butter chunks are no bigger than a pea size. Spread the mixture over the berries evenly.Bake in the oven for 40 minutes. I like to place a baking sheet under the crisp in case it boils over, but it rarely happens. Remove from the oven when the liquid is boiling around the edges and the top is browned.Once done, allow to rest for 10 minutes. This is very important, especially if you’ve got a soupier crisp. In addition, the leftovers will firm up quite a bit. Serve warm.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 6
Produce On Parade - Wild Blueberry Crisp
Produce On Parade - Wild Blueberry Crisp

After half a pan of bluberry crisp on a dark and blustery evening, it felt right to just lay in bed and read. #noshame

Produce On Parade

German Word of The Day

Blueberry --> Heidelbeere (Highdel-bearah)

Good Deed of The Day

This is absolutely heartbreaking. Palm oil producers are poisoning pygmy elephants. Help take a stand. Call on the Prime Minister of Malaysia to protect the unique wildlife and stop the further destruction of rainforests, and restore the forest corridors to allow elephants to wander their remaining habitat. As a consumer, vote with your fork. Stop contributing to these monstrosities by refusing to buy products with palm oil. Many peanut butters, butter spreads, and snacking chips along with many other food products contain palm oil.