Mixed Fruit Crisp

~Amanda~

Summer weather is finally here and it’s Memorial Day weekend and I am so happy! I absolutely love summer; the warm weather and evening showers are the best, everyone’s outside getting fresh air, the pool is finally open, and one of the best things – SO MUCH FRESH FRUIT! Fresh fruit is so flavorful, sweet, juicy, and not comparable to anything you get in the winter. One of my favorite things to do with all this fresh fruit is make desserts (because I probably love dessert even more than I love fresh fruit, so why not combine them haha), and fruit crisp is the best summer dessert there is. The fresh fruit is mixed with cinnamon and baked underneath a delicious layer of crispy brown sugar and oat topping and it’s not complete without a big scoop of ice cream on top that melts into the ooey gooey layers of crisp and fruit. Mmmmm my mouth is watering right now.

The first time I made this recipe, I was instantly transported back to my childhood. Our mom would make fruit crisp when we were growing up and with my first bite of this, I could picture being back in our childhood home, sitting on the deck, looking at the mountains, and enjoying this delicious dessert. The best part about fruit crisp is that you can make it with virtually any fruit you have; strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, peaches, apples, blackberries, it’s all great and it all turns out amazing! When it’s in season, my absolute favorite is rhubarb and strawberries, so I wait all year for that to come into stores (luckily this year Dad has some planted in his garden too)! Cut the fruit into the same general size and then toss it in a bowl with some cinnamon- cinnamon and fruit is the best combination.

Now it’s pretty debatable whether the fruit or the crisp is the best part… I’d say it’s a tie, you can’t have one without the other, you just can’t. Since I am gluten-free, I obviously made a gluten-free crisp topping, but both Conor and I agreed this topping was amazing and I would recommend it whether you’re gluten free or not. It’s made with brown sugar, oat flour, rolled oats, and butter (I like the sub coconut oil for half the butter). Once combined, you sprinkle it on top of the fruit and then toss it in the  oven to bake up. This is a dessert that’s best served warm out of the oven and you pretty much have to top it with some cool ice cream. There is not much better than when the ice cream melts into the crisp and they start mixing together… seriously amazing. Okay, now that I’m done telling you how amazing this is, I’m going to have some leftovers immediately! Happy Summer (almost officially)!