The Delight which is Blueberry Crisp

It's been pretty busy around these parts lately. So busy that my blog topics are stacking up and leaving me further and further behind...in a cloud of dust, if you will. I have loads of recipes to share with you and details from our medical mission trip to Nicaragua and a fun mayoral campaign brunch I helped cater and so on and so on! Plus, our Family Bible School at church was last week and I've had good friends come back home from teaching English in China for the past 10 months, so stir all that together and we've had some good times lately. Just busy!

I thought I'd start back with a super easy but ridiculously delicious dessert recipe. It's blueberry season, people! And that makes me happy. So far I've only bought blueberries once this year, because they are stinkin' expensive at the grocery store. But! BUT! I've just found out (thank you, Facebook friend Genie) that a place down the road (in Finger, TN - it's a real place) has a pick-your-own operation going on. I think she said it was $7.00 for a gallon bucket of them. Woo hooo! I plan to go there soon. 'Cause you can freeze blueberries - did you know that? My mom does every year...and subsequently has blueberries at the ready for topping oatmeal year-round. Or making this blueberry crisp, which she and I and Betty Crocker came up with together several years back. If you have an original Betty Crocker cookbook, the recipes for crisps and cobblers should be found on page 177-78. We made the topping from the apple crisp recipe found there.

You are not gonna believe how easy - or delicious - this is. And as far as desserts go, it's pretty healthy. Bonus!

Here's what you do:

Let your oven begin preheating to a nice 350 degrees. Grab a pie plate (or other oven-safe dish), spray a tad of Pam in it, and fill it with washed and patted-dry blueberries. During this process, be sure to pop a few in your mouth. After all, you must make sure that they're fit for human consumption. But they will be. Oh, they'll be little sweet bursts in your mouth! Well, maybe. I mean, I don't know where you buy your blueberries. They could be awful tasting. And that's why you taste-test. On to the next step!

Then. Well, then you mix up some brown sugar, all-purpose flour, oats, spices, and butter to make the stuff that causes the name "crisp" to be found in this recipe. Let me stop here and tell you something I recently learned. You can make brown sugar at home. Seriously. YOU can make it at HOME. I have done so several times lately and it's like a little science experiment. It's so quick, too. Of course, you have to have regular sugar and molasses, but that's it! Well, a bowl and a fork will help, too. You dump some regular sugar in your chosen bowl (no need to measure) and then drizzle some molasses over the top. Stir, stir, mash, and stir with your fork until it's incorporated. Add some more molasses if you want it darker. Stir again. You're done! It looks, smells, tastes, and performs like store-bought brown sugar. Now you know. And it's pretty cool. =)

You sprinkle this topping over the blueberries, making sure to get your hands dirty in the process. I strongly feel that a streusel or crisp topping is best mixed con las manos...(or "with the hands" if you speak no Spanish). But I suppose you could use a fork or something...sin manos. You'd disappoint me, though...

That's it! That's all you do, besides slipping the pan in the oven and letting it bake for awhile. Twenty to thirty minutes or whenever your topping is nice and brown and the blueberries are bubbling. Oh! By the way, I've also made this with sliced peaches and blueberries together and it's muy delicioso as well.

Top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and you've got yourself a lovely summery dessert. Let me know if you try it. Huh. I suppose I should give you the exact measurements for this recipe in case you want to make it yourself...

Blueberry Crisp

1 lb. blueberries, rinsed and patted dry (or a mixture of peaches and blueberries)
2/3 c. brown sugar (packed)
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. oats
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice, if either strike your fancy - or just a little more cinnamon!
1/3 c. butter or margarine, softened

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease pan and pour blueberries into it. Mix up remaining ingredients by hand (con las manos!) and sprinkle over the blueberries. Bake 20-30 minutes or until blueberries are bubbling and the topping is golden brown. Serve warm with lightly sweetened whipped cream (or Fat-Free Redi-Wip - it's seriously delicious) or vanilla ice cream (Blue Bell Light Homemade Vanilla is our very favorite).

Happy Berry Season!