Blueberry Almond Crisp

This amazing blueberry crisp recipe is the perfect summertime dessert! It’s easy to make with blueberries, maple syrup, lemon, oats and almonds. It’s gluten free, too! Recipe yields 6 to 8 servings (a lot!).

INGREDIENTS

Lemon blueberry filling

• 2 pounds blueberries (that’s 32 ounces, which is about 5 cups or a little less than 3 pints)
• ⅓ cup maple syrup or honey
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot starch or 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• ½ teaspoon lemon zest (less than 1 small lemon, zested—scale back to ¼ teaspoon zest if you don’t love lemon)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice (from 1 to 2 lemons)
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Gluten-free oat and almond topping

• 1 cup old-fashioned oats (certified gluten-free for a gluten-free crisp)
• ½ cup packed almond meal or almond flour
• ½ cup sliced almonds
• ⅓ cup lightly packed brown sugar
• ¼ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons plain yogurt (Greek or regular), or additional melted butter

Don’t forget vanilla ice cream, for serving!

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Rinse and drain the blueberries and pick through them to remove any stems still attached. In a 9 by 9-inch baking dish, mix together the blueberries, maple syrup or honey, arrowroot or cornstarch, lemon zest, lemon juice and cinnamon.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the oats, almond meal/flour, sliced almonds, brown sugar and salt. Mix in the butter and yogurt. Stir until all of the flour is incorporated and the mixture is moistened throughout.
3. Dollop spoonfuls of the oat mixture over the filling and use your fingers to break up the mixture until it is evenly distributed (no need to pack it down).
4. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling around the edges and the top is lightly golden. Let the crisp rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream (I insist!).

NOTES
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TO MAKE THIS RECIPE NUT FREE: omit the sliced almonds and use ¾ cup whole wheat flour and ¾ cup oats instead of the almond meal and oats specified above. It will no longer be gluten free. If you want to keep it gluten free, I suspect that you could replace the almond meal with oat flour or more oats (haven’t tried that, please comment if you do!).

TO MAKE THIS RECIPE VEGAN: I believe you could use melted coconut oil in place of the browned butter/yogurt (use 4 tablespoons coconut oil and add up to 3 more, until the topping mixture is moistened throughout) and maple syrup instead of the honey. I haven’t tried it, though.

WAIT, WHAT’S ARROWROOT STARCH? Arrowroot starch is a great thickener to use in place of corn starch, which is often genetically modified. It’s gluten free, too. Look for it in the baking section of well-stocked grocery stores or buy it online.

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