Pages

Monday, April 30, 2012

Makeover Monday: Cherry Berry Crisp

As of Saturday, my husband and I are officially moved in to our new house.  Are we unpacked, organized, or cleaned up?  Nope!  In the process of moving, I have learned a few things about myself.  First, I can successfully barter my peanut butter cookies for a new paint job.  Second, I have no discernible upper body strength.  And third, I am undeniably a foodie.

How do I know for sure that I am a foodie?  Here are a few signs:
You might be a foodie if you have more moving boxes labeled "kitchen" then all your other boxes combined.  You might be a foodie if your clothes are lying in haphazard piles on the floor of your beautiful walk-in closest, but your Kitchen-Aid, food processor, and pots and pans are neatly tucked away in your 100-year-old kitchen cabinets.  And last, but not least, you might be a foodie if you are posting on your food blog when you don't even have internet in your own house (or even a Starbucks or McDonald's with free Wi-Fi!)

In the spirit of moving, not having internet, and having a whole room full of unpacked boxes in my home that I suppose I must deal with at some point, I'm not going to spend a ton of time on this post.  However, I will probably still spend more time writing about this cherry berry crisp than I spent actually making it.  This is one of the easiest homemade desserts you can make.  And it is delicious and healthy!

What makes this dessert healthy?  Fruit, whole grain, and heart healthy fats!  I am a dessert fiend and I always feel better about myself when I can sneak some important nutrients into my sweets!  This cherry berry crisp has a healthy dose of antioxidants and Vitamin C from the cherries and blueberries.  As a matter of fact, cherries and blueberries are two of the most antioxidant-rich fruits you'll find in your produce aisle!  The whole wheat flour and oatmeal are of course whole grains, which means they are good sources of fiber.  And the walnuts, flax seed, and canola oil are all great sources of heart disease-fighting omega-3 fatty acids.  

Put all this together with just a smidgen of sugar and you have a dessert that is healthy, hearty, and amazingly delicious!  This stuff is so good hot out of the oven that I could probably eat a whole pan of this by myself.  But I was nice and shared some with my husband.  He needs some healthy stuff, too!
Start by making the crust.  Just combine oatmeal, whole wheat flour, chopped walnuts, ground flax seed, and a little bit of brown sugar.
Cut in some butter.  Okay, butter isn't exactly healthy, but a little bit here and there won't kill you!
To make the fruit filling, combine cherries, blueberries, a bit more brown sugar (or if you want to cut out even more calories, use Splenda!), flour, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large bowl and toss to coat.  I just used frozen fruit.  
Spread the fruit in an 8x8-inch baking dish.
Spread the topping over the fruit.  Bake for about 40 minutes at 400 degrees.  Waiting on this to bake and cool is seriously the hardest part about making this!
So, the bottom line is that you need to make this dessert.  It is awesome!  Now, I have to go unpack.  But I'd rather be baking!


Cherry Berry Crisp
Ingredients:
2 cups sweet cherries (can use frozen)
2 cups blueberries
2 Tbsp Splenda brown sugar blend
2 Tbsp whole wheat flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
For the topping:
3/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1/4 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats
2 Tbsp Splenda brown sugar blend
2 Tbsp whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp ground flax seed
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt
2 Tbsp canola oil
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine cherries, blueberries, brown sugar, flour, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large bowl and toss to coat.  Place the fruit mixture in an 8x8-inch baking dish and set aside.
To make the topping, combine the walnuts, oats, brown sugar, whole wheat flour, flaxseed, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl.  Add the canola oil and stir until the dry ingredients are well coated.
Spread the topping evenly over the fruit mixture.  Bake 40-45 minutes, or until the fruit is tender and the topping is golden brown (cover with foil if the topping browns too quickly).

No comments:

Post a Comment