Farmgirl Susan's Old-Fashioned Blackberry Crisp

Makes one 8-inch square crisp

Fruit crisps give you back so much more than you put into them. They require less effort than a pie but are usually met with just as much enthusiasm. We enjoy ours morning, noon, and night, and I don't make them nearly often enough.

If you prefer, you can make the topping with just whole wheat flour or just all-purpose flour. Organic turbinado sugar (also called raw sugar) works beautifully here with the blackberries, and even organic brown sugar is becoming mainstream.

Topping:
1/3 cup organic all-purpose flour
1/3 cup organic whole wheat flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
2/3 cup light brown sugar, preferably organic
2/3 cup organic old-fashioned oats (not quick cooking oats)
1/2 cup (1 stick/4 ounces) organic butter, cut into small chunks

Filling:
2 pounds blackberries (about 7 cups)
1/2 cup organic turbinado sugar (or granulated sugar)
1 to 2 Tablespoons organic all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

Heat the oven to 375°.

For the topping:
Combine the flours, brown sugar, and oats in a medium bowl. Blend in the butter using a pastry blender, two forks, or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Some larger chunks of butter are fine.

For the filling:
Place the blackberries in a large bowl and use a large spoon to toss them with the sugar, flour (use 2 Tablespoons if your berries are really juicy), and cinnamon. Sprinkle the almond extract over the berries and toss well.

Pour the fruit into an 8-inch square baking dish and cover evenly with the topping.

Bake 35 minutes, or until the topping is brown and the fruit is bubbling. Serve warm or at room temperature, with vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream if desired.

This crisp will keep for 3 days in a cool pantry or the refrigerator. It also freezes well.

I usually freeze one or two servings in containers, but you could probably freeze the whole crisp; either leave it right in the pan (if it's freezer safe), or line the pan with heavy foil before baking, freeze the crisp in the pan, then lift the whole thing out of the pan in one big piece and transfer it to a container or zipper freezer bag. Set it back in the pan when you defrost it.

Recipe source: FarmgirlFare.com