Vegan Berry Crisp in a Jar
Last Saturday was a beautiful day. The sun was out, it was about 50 degrees in the morning and I ran the Roseville Run for the Roses 5k. Now, 50 degrees might not sound like a nice Summer day to some, but it is perfect for running and I was thankful for the cooler temps for my race. It went pretty well, and although I didn't have as fast of a time as I would have liked since the course was hilly, I won the women's division so that was cool. This is a race I used to do back in the day when I first started running outside of school and actually the first road race I ever ran 14 years ago. So I was glad it went well this year too. After the race in the afternoon it had warmed up a bit, and Eric and I decided to visit a local vineyard for their raspberry festival. Nothing like enjoying wine on a beautiful afternoon! Then it was time to relax, and I was in the mood for something like pie for dessert but I wasn't in the mood to bake something complicated so I went for a berry crisp.
Crisp is always so delicious and is the perfect sweet comfort food. The one I made requires very little oven time as I cooked the fruit on the stove and just the topping in the oven. I decided I wanted to make it festive as well, since the 4th of July is fast approaching so I cooked my two types of berries separately. You wouldn't have to do this if you wanted it to be less fussy, you would just end up with a purple filling instead of separate red and blue. The berries were so sweet that they needed very little sweetening which is always nice and this is the way it often is when you use fruit that is in season. For the topping I used a mixture of oats, coconut and flour made a little rich with some pecan butter instead of the usual coconut oil. I am liking this for crisps lately, it tastes wonderful!
They smelled wonderful once they were all done and I enjoyed one warm with some cool coconut ice cream on top. I always have to have cool ice cream on my warm crisps and cobblers, I love the contrast of textures, temperatures and flavors. This was simply heavenly! If you are looking for a delicious recipe for the 4th, give this a try!
Vegan Berry Crisp in a Jar
Serves 2-4
Fruit:
- 2 cups organic strawberries, halved
- 2 cups organic blueberries
- 3 Tbsp maple syrup (divided)
- pinch sea salt
- 2 Tbsp (divided) arrowroot powder
- 2 Tbsp (divided) lemon juice
- 3 Tbsp gluten free all purpose flour
- 3 Tbsp large flake dried unsweetened coconut
- 1/2 cup gluten free rolled oats
- 3 Tbsp coconut sugar
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- 3 Tbsp raw pecan butter or almond butter
For serving:
- 4 smaller, shorter mason jars (or 2 large if you like a big serving like me)
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
- Place the strawberries in one medium saucepan and the blueberries in another. Add 1 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup to each pan, then a pinch of sea salt to each, and cook over medium heat until the berries start to sizzle, then lower heat to medium, cover, and cook until the berries in each pan are tender (stirring often) about 15 minutes. Dissolve 1 Tbsp arrowroot in 1 Tbsp lemon juice in a small bowl, add it to the strawberries and stir until thickened. Remove from heat. Repeat with the blueberries using 1 Tbsp arrowroot and 1 Tbsp lemon juice again and cooking until thickened once added. Remove from heat. Set pans aside.
- To make the topping, combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix together with your hands scrunching together to form small clumps until there are no floury spots left. Spread out on a sheet pan, place in the oven and bake until crunchy, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
- Spoon the berry filling into jars, the blueberry first, then the strawberry, then top with the crumble topping. Serve!
