Summer Berry Crisp. And look how beautiful it is sitting on Sandy’s adorable Memorial Day “tablescape”!!!

Juicy berries beneath a crispy, crumbly crust of oats, cinnamon and brown sugar.  Summer Berry Crisp.  Crisps are hands down one of the easiest desserts to make. You can even make this one with frozen (gasp!) berries to simplify even further.  But with the abundance of fresh berries in the market right now, you’ll want to use fresh.  And the colors of the red (strawberries and raspberries), white (vanilla ice cream) and blue (blueberries) make this Summer Berry Crisp the perfect dessert for your Memorial Day or Fourth of July cookout.  (In fact, I made it just yesterday to bring to our friends Sandy and Joel’s BBQ!  Great time, great food and Sandy always does the best job of decorating!!)

OR you can use this recipe as a guide and play with any combination of fruits and/or berries you like…mix it up!  Peach/Blueberry…Strawberry/Rhubarb…Nectarine/Blackberry…what’s your favorite?

SUMMER BERRY CRISP

(adapted slightly from Sheila Lukins in PARADE, via Epicurious)

INGREDIENTS

Berry filling:

2 cups each strawberries (cut in half or thirds if large), blueberries, blackberries and raspberries (or, two 12-oz. bags of frozen berries; no need to thaw!)

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Crisp Topping:

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream or, for serving

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375°.  Butter a 9×13″ baking dish.

Gently combine the berries with the sugar, flour and lemon juice.

Prepare the topping:  Combine the oats, flour, both sugars, cinnamon and salt in a bowl.  Use a pastry blender or two knives to work the butter until topping resembles coarse meal. (Fold in pecans if using.)  Sprinkle evenly over the berries.

Bake until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden brown, about 40-45 minutes.  Remove the crisp to a rack to cool slightly.  Serve in dessert bowls, warm or at room temperature, with ice cream or whipped cream.