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Fresh Blackberry Crisp

Fresh blackberry crisp made with just-picked blackberries from the farm ~ the best summer dessert, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, of course!

Fresh Blackberry Crisp in baking dish with ice cream and spoon.

I absolutely love fresh berries in the summer and if they're local, even better.  Just so fresh and bursting with flavor.  The farm near my house has blackberries you can pick, and boy oh boy, are they ever good!  I've never seen such big, plump, juicy blackberries as these ~ just amazing.

Closeup in a white bowl with spoon.

 

What's the difference between a crisp and a cobbler?

Last year, I made a blackberry-peach cobbler with these blackberries and this year I opted for a crisp.  I love both cobblers and crisps, and am probably a little more fond of the crisp.  The difference between the two?  Cobblers have a biscuit-like topping and crisps have a streusel-like topping.  So it's really a matter of preference, which pastry do you want to cover the fresh fruit?  I went for the crisp this year, because I was craving all that buttery, sweet crispiness.

Side by side photo of blackberries and in the baking dish with topping.

The blackberries are tossed with a little sugar, how much depends on how sweet the blackberries are.  I used a couple tablespoons, but use more if your berries are really tart.  I added a lemon juice-cornstarch slurry to help thicken it a little and some vanilla.  That's it for the berries, into a baking dish they go.

In baking dish with ice cream and spoon.

I make a simple topping with flour, sugar, spices, rolled oats and butter.  Just combine with your fingertips until you have coarse crumbles and that's it.  To keep it crisp when it cooks, cover the blackberries with just half the topping and bake.  Then add the rest of the topping and finish baking.  This helps ensure a crispy topping with not too much sogginess underneath from the berries.

In bowl with spoon next to basket of blackberries

Blackberries in summer are perfect for making a crisp.  Meathead doesn't like blackberries, so he claims.  Guess what?  Yep... he couldn't stop eating this delicious farm-fresh blackberry crisp with all the ice cream.  I had to slap his hand away when he went for thirds!  Kelly🍴🐦

Fresh Blackberry Crisp in baking dish with spoon almost completely eaten.

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Fresh Blackberry Crisp closeup in a white bowl.

Fresh Blackberry Crisp

Fresh blackberry crisp made with just-picked blackberries from the farm ~ the best summer dessert, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, of course!
5 from 6 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 335kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • ½ cup dark brown sugar
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • Pinch kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • teaspoon nutmeg
  • 8 tablespoons slightly softened unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • 1 cup old-fashioned oats
  • 6 cups fresh blackberries, washed
  • 2 tablespoons sugar (or more, if really tart, up to ⅓ cup)
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • Zest from half lemon
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375º.
  • Make the topping.  In medium bowl, combine flour, both sugars, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Add the butter pieces and with fingertips rub together until well blended and mixture resembles coarse crumbs (it will hold together if you pinch it).  Add oats and toss to combine.  Refrigerate until ready to use.
  • Prepare fruit.  Combine lemon juice and cornstarch in small dish until dissolved. In bowl, gently toss blackberries with sugar, lemon-cornstarch slurry, lemon zest and vanilla.  Pour fruit into a 9" X 13" or similar capacity baking dish.
  • Top the fruit evenly with half of the topping (refrigerate other half) and bake for 20 minutes.  Sprinkle with remaining topping and bake another 25 minutes, until lightly browned and bubbly.  Let cool 20 to 30 minutes, serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Recipe Notes

Inspired by Fine Cooking
Serve with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream - or cheat and used whipped topping or spray whipped cream. I won't tell!

Nutrition

Calories: 335kcal Carbohydrates: 53g Protein: 5g Fat: 13g Saturated Fat: 7g Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g Monounsaturated Fat: 3g Trans Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 30mg Sodium: 8mg Potassium: 253mg Fiber: 7g Sugar: 28g Vitamin A: 581IU Vitamin C: 23mg Calcium: 55mg Iron: 2mg
Did you make this recipe? Please comment, rate it and share! And mention me on Instagram @thehungrybluebird or tag #thehungrybluebird so I can see!

 

Recipe Rating




Kenedee

Friday 4th of June 2021

Could I use frozen blackberries?

Kelly

Friday 4th of June 2021

Yes, definitely!

Dan Saucedo

Sunday 23rd of September 2018

Stunning!!! I took this to a dinner with Jim and Quinn (Jill). Guests stopped and savored at every bite.

Kelly

Sunday 23rd of September 2018

Glad you guys liked it!!

Meathead

Monday 23rd of July 2018

What’s the difference between blackberry crisp and blackberry cobbler?

I never thought you'd ask...