Blueberry Crisp: A Taste of Summer in the Middle of Winter

Who's ready for spring? (Quickly raises hand.) 

Around here, we've had a long winter with more snow than usual and lots of icy days spent working from home. While mid-February is giving us a slight reprieve from the arctic blasts, I imagine we still have at least a month of cold weather left -- if not more.

While we look forward to an end to the cold weather, how about whipping up a dessert with a taste that will remind you of summer, while being a comfort food that will warm you up on the coldest of winter days?

This blueberry crisp recipe is one passed down from my mom, and it's a classic. In the summertime growing up, we used to go blueberry picking, and we'd come home with big sacks full of the yummy berries. We loved making this dessert with the fresh blueberries. We'd then freeze the blueberries and use them throughout the year, so we could just as easily make this treat in the middle of winter as the summer. 

Don't worry, this recipe will still turn out great if you have to buy frozen blueberries from the store -- in fact, that's the way I typically have to make it these days, since I'm not able to go blueberry picking with my family anymore, due to living four hours away.

Blueberry Crisp

• 3 cups blueberries (can use fresh or frozen)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup oats (quick-cooking or old-fashioned)
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup butter or margarine (slightly softened)

Heat oven to 375 degree. Arrange blueberries in an ungreased square baking dish, 8x8x2 inches. Sprinkle with lemon juice. 

Mix the brown sugar, flour, oats, cinnamon, salt and butter or margarine. A pastry blender works well for working the butter into small pieces to make a crumbly topping. You can also use a fork if you don't have a pastry blender.

Sprinkle the mixture on top of the blueberries in the dish.

Bake until the topping is light brown and blueberries are hot. Cook time will depend on your oven. The original recipe says 30 minutes, but some ovens may be as little as 15 or 20 minutes (mine is notorious for cooking things extra fast so I've learned to keep a close eye on things). 

Serve it hot with a scoop of ice cream. Delicious!