I mentioned in yesterday’s post that I made good use of the 4 pounds of berries that made it home with me from Trader Joe’s by making some berry crisp. It came out pretty good and was nowhere to be found within an hour of its exit from the oven.

Justin apologized as he huffed down the last of it, but luckily I had anticipated this and snapped a picture right off the bat. I half-jokingly asked if he had enjoyed the crisp and  he clapped in response. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he clapped because his trap was full, but I think that maybe he was channeling his inner seal.

I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t a little concerned.

I don’t know about you guys, but I love desserts (I could just stop the sentence there, but I’ll continue) like apple crisp and berry cobbler. The texture of the fruit paired with the crunch of the topping wins me over every time. I had a hankering for some sort of crisp the other day so I started looking around for some recipe ideas since all I had in my arsenal was one for a not-so-healthy apple crisp.

Similarly, a bunch of the recipes that I came across called for anywhere from 1 to 2 1/2 sticks of butter.

Sticks!

That seemed a little excessive. The issue seemed to lie with the topping; for the most part, the toppings were being made with a combination of butter and sugar. Delicious? Yes. Nutritious? Hard to say. One of the recipes I came across (here) used oats as a base for the topping so I decided to go that route. I used some ratios from my not-so-healthy apple crisp recipe and then used enough butter to keep the topping together and it turned out great. I didn’t think that it tasted like it was missing anything or that it was a ‘lite’ recipe, which is what I’m going for when I bake.

Justin gave his SoA before I broke the news that it was made with a fraction of the butter that is usually used and was an even bigger fan after.

I had a bunch of blueberries and strawberries on hand so I used both in the crisp. Cutting up the strawberries was the most time consuming part so if you’re looking for a super easy recipe, stick with ready-to-go berries like blueberries, blackberries or raspberries.

Or a combination of all 3, which I am willing to bet would be delightful.

This is a really quick and easy recipe and is delicious warm or chilled, alone or topped with vanilla ice cream.

Lite Berry Crisp
serves: 6-8 / prep time: 10 minutes / cook time: 35-40 minutes

Berry mixture:

• 6 cups berries
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/4 cup sugar

Topping:

• 1 cup quick-cook oats
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Combine all of the ingredients for the berry mixture and pour into a greased pie dish. Combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle over the top of the berry mixture. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. Serve warm or chilled, alone or with vanilla ice cream.