Berry Walnut Oat Crisp

My Berry Walnut Oat Crisp is super simple and bursting with summer’s best berries. The gluten-free walnut oat topping is crispy, buttery and richly nutty. This whole recipe is naturally sweetened with coconut sugar, too, making it a healthy summer dessert.

Sunday night I was on the cusp of a breakdown. Not to be dramatic. But I could feel it coming on for the whole day. I knew I couldn’t take one more thing, one more cry or whine at me, one more request that didn’t actually need to be asked of me…

And then something so silly can be the breaking point. Being asked why the sound machine wasn’t working in the baby’s room, when really just the volume was turned down, was it. I grabbed my shoes and my headphones and left while Canaan was being put to sleep.

I’m sure upbeat and angry music would be logical in these situations, but for some reason I like to pile it on and really torture my emotions. Nothing but slow depressing music for me. But as I pounded the sidewalk around my neighborhood and did enough walking lunges to break the legs off any normal person, the fresh air and solitude brought rushes of answers to me.

Say no to favors. Not the nice ones that you actually want to do, but the ones you never would want to say yes to in your right mind. Why do I always say yes to those? Favors are for your friends and loved ones, the ones that deserve your time and energy. Favors are not for those who should be paying you, but ask for favors instead. When you’re asked too many favors, and you say yes too many times, your ability to say “yes” for those who truly love you and enjoy the task you’re doing is flushed down the toilet.

Make the things you’re passionate about accessible to you. Why is my desk in a bedroom down the hall and next to the baby’s room? Why is my computer, that I do all of my blog work on, unavailable to me when I need it the most? Having a separate office has always been a fun, happy thing for me, but lately it’s actually been detrimental to my passions. Top of the list: move the desk and computer back into my room, so when I need it, it’s there.

I don’t know how to solve everything that is weighing on me, though. Lately I’ve become a version of myself I don’t particularly like. I’m mean and snappy and hate the sound of my voice coming out of my mouth. I’m constantly saying things in a manner in which I wish I could just suck the words back in and start over. That creates a layer of guilt and anger for myself I wouldn’t wish on anyone. And constantly apologizing to a one-year-old for “mommy sounding mean” is really wearing too.

Although this all sounds heavy and depressing, I did come back from that walk ready to let it all go. I cried it out and was able to feel like a semblance of a normal human for the evening. And I felt like I had a new, more important list of tasks to complete in my life. Things I truly should be focusing on.

I don’t have a catchy transition to get to our Berry Walnut Oat Crisp, but I assure you this dessert could lift anyone’s spirits.

Here’s the rundown: it’s gluten free, naturally sweetened with coconut sugar, has a buttery crumble topping that makes the spirit-hands emoji 100% necessary, and can be thrown together in a snap. It’s worth turning your oven on in this heat, I promise. I used a mix of many berries, but you could stick to just one or two if that’s what you like. You could also choose frozen or fresh berries, because we’re pretty chill here.

The berries bake up into a jammy, pie-filling sweet layer under that thick topping of crispy, nutty crumble. I won’t tell a soul when you go back for your third serving.

One last quick ingredient note: I used quick oats here instead of rolled oats, but simply because that’s all I had on hand (after grabbing the wrong container in the grocery store). You could use either one.

Berry Walnut Oat Crisp
Recipe by Melissa @ Treats With A Twist
Serves 6

INGREDIENTS
4 cups berries, fresh or frozen
2 Tbs. tapioca starch (or corn or potato)
2 Tbs. coconut sugar
For the topping:
¼ cup unsalted butter
½ cup + 2 Tbs. raw walnuts
½ cup + ¼ cup gluten free oats
¼ cup coconut sugar
pinch of kosher salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. cardamom
½ tsp. vanilla extract

METHOD
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 10×5” baking dish (or a 9×9”) with butter around the edges.
First, toss together the berries, tapioca starch and coconut sugar. Pour this mixture into your baking dish and spread out evenly. If you’re using frozen berries, do not thaw them. If you’re using fresh strawberries, make sure they’re cut into reasonable pieces.

For the topping: combine all of the topping ingredients except the extra ¼ cup of oats and 2 Tbs. of walnuts in your food processor or high powered blender basin and pulse until your butter is distributed (you want everything broken up, but you don’t’ want the mixture to turn into a dough where you can’t recognize what went into it). Then, pour it all into a bowl and mix in the extra oats and walnuts (I broke up my walnuts by hand but left some bigger pieces).
Use your fingers to sprinkle the crumble in an even layer over the top of the berries.
Bake for 45-55 minutes, watching it carefully so the crumble doesn’t burn. It’s done when the crumble is deeply golden and the berries are bubbling throughout.
Let the crisp cool before serving.

NOTES
You can keep the baked crisp on the counter, covered, for 24 hours or in the fridge, covered, for 4-5 days.

To print this recipe, copy and paste the text into a new document on your computer, then hit print. Simple and exactly how we used to do it. 

 

If you LOVE summer berries, try this recipe too! And THIS one!