Berry Crisp

Fruit crisps, fruit pies, fruit cobbler...any combination of warm baked fruit with a dollop of creamy vanilla ice cream is pretty much my favorite dessert.

That said, it didn't take long for me to think of using some of our market berries for a yummy crisp. We also happen to have this wonderful organic vanilla ice cream in our freezer. So really, the crisp was half-made anyway.

This is the recipe I use for my crisp toppings. I used this on an apple crisp I made when we had company last. I sprinkled a little sugar on the apples but with these berries, they're so sweet on their own, I didn't add anything.

Crisp Topping
4 tablespoons of butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/3 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 cup of thick rolled oats

In a Cuisinart, blend butter through flour. Then add oats and pulse a few times to blend. I put oats in at the end so that they stay as whole as possible. The topping will be enough for a nine inch pan.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until done. I wait until the top is golden and the fruit is bubbling.

P.S. Hubby and I went on a date over the weekend and saw the movie Julie & Julia. It really inspired me to crack open that "Baking with Julia" cookbook I got ions ago and yet, have never used. Today I made it as far as opening it up and looking at all the pretty pictures. We'll see what follows...