Freezer Berry Crisp

A quick dessert from ingredients on hand - and a VERY flexible recipe to boot. Any combination of berries (actually almost any soft fruit) will mix well. Just adjust the sugar added to the tartness of the fruit.

Berries, from your freezer. I used blueberries:















Cranberries, and some mixed berries - about 8 cups in total:















I added about a cup and a half of sugar (less if it hadn't included all those tart cranberries) and a splash of vanilla:

















Meanwhile in another part of the kitchen:

Butter was melted:

Leftover, stale storebought cookies were tried and sentenced to execution by spatula:

Then mixed with about three cups of oats and the butter. (I didn't sweeten because of the cookies. If you're using all oats, add a bit of brown sugar)

Pour the berries into a 13 x 9 pan, followed by the topping. Bake at 375, 35-45 minutes.

Serve with whipped cream or ice cream!

Oatmeal Raspberry Bars

I'm moving this week, so I don't have much access to kitchen or computer, so the leftovers are long ago consumed for each recipe this week, but hopefully still useful!

OATMEAL RASPBERRY BARS

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3 cups old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup seedless raspberry jam (I've substituted homemade strawberry jam at least once)

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Spread 3/4 cup coconut evenly on a baking sheet and toast in middle of oven, stirring once, until golden, about 8 minutes, then cool.

Blend together flour, sugars, and salt in a food processor, then add butter and blend until a dough begins to form. Transfer to a bowl and knead in oats and toasted coconut until combined well.

Reserve 3/4 cup dough, then press remainder evenly into bottom of a buttered 13- by 9-inch metal baking pan and spread jam over it. Crumble reserved dough evenly over jam, then sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup (untoasted) coconut.

Three Berry Pie

I think this is officially a "deep dish" pie, because I only put a top crust on it. But this would actually be a "shallow dish" pie if there was such a thing - it probably is only enough for four people. Because I have yet to remaster the art of making pie dough (I could in my teens, but lost the touch), and I only had one roll out pie dough in my refrigerator.

Combine:

1 pint blueberries - they were a bit old - when they start to look like raisins

5 large strawberries

about 3/4 cup of frozen raspberries

mix together:

1/2 cup sugar

4 teaspons cornstarch

Mix the sugar into the berries and pour into a pretty tart pan. Top with pie crust - I cut mine into long strips and made a lazy man's lattice.

Bake at 425 for about 20 minutes, then turn down to 350 and bake another 30 - until the juices are nice and bubbly and the crust is starting to brown.

Serve with vanilla ice cream!