It’s finally blackberry season! I’m thrilled to report I made a small batch of jam that I canned and distributed to various family and friends but also am hoarding in the back of our pantry. If I’m lucky we’ll be able to pick enough to make a bit more. It’s also apple season and I’m conversely chagrined to report that too many of our tiny Gravensteins have been tossed over the back fence to our neighbor’s goats. But — I’ve made a couple of pies and several crisps and when I’m married the blackberries with the apples something really lovely has come out of it.
My toes are very lightly dipping into gluten-free eating — I’m not fully committed to it yet in practice (it will be an experiment to see how I feel since I have not been diagnosed with a gluten allergy) but I have been reducing here and there to ease the way. So this crisp, which as has happened before in my gluten-free baking endeavors, calls for almond and oats in a combination that makes me think regardless of any gluten-free lifestyle (or not) I may embark upon, I’ll revisit again and again.
The flavor of toasted almonds and oats folded together is something you’ll probably want to revisit too. Swapping maple syrup for the brown sugar in the apple-blackberry mix could make this crisp almost if not definitely appropriate for breakfast — a lightly sweet hint of the fall flavors and weather that is almost on our doorstep. I love Gravenstein apples for baking but admittedly I mainly use them during this season because we have a tree; technically you could use any apples here but if they are on the sweeter side you’ll want to reduce the sugar a little.
I’ve been thinking about this site and am planning a refresh to be completed by the end of the year — including a better recipe index, more essays, a bit more focus than I may have had in the past. We’ll see if I can accomplish that! In the interim, crisp.
Vanilla ice cream nice but not necessary!
Makes 10-12 servings.
About 3 pounds tart apples (I used Gravensteins)
1-2 cups blackberries
1/2 cup brown sugar or 1/4 cup maple syrup
Topping
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup almond flour
1 1/2-2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of fine sea salt
heat oven to 350 F. Peel and slice the apples and place in a 9×13 pan. Gently fold in the blackberries and brown sugar.
Melt the butter and place in a large bowl. Add the almond flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt and mix to combine. Sometimes I add a bit more oats if the topping seems thin. Spread evenly over the apples and blackberries.
Place crisp in the oven and bake for 45 minutes, checking then to see if the fruit is bubbling and the topping looks crisp. If not, check every five minutes until done. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack.
Your jam was perfect! gone too soon! Looking forward to your reimagined blog…..always a culinary treat!