Blueberry Coconut Crisp (Gluten and Dairy Free)

First up, you all are awesome.  Thank you so much for the kind words, the valuable information sharing and the general feeling of support.  If nothing else, it makes the journey a bit easier and a whole lot more interesting knowing you’re not the only one on board the train.  We’ve hit week six of the change and it feels like the hill is starting to turn back down again.  I’ve figured out the perfect pancake, tracked down a couple gluten free granola bars we all like in addition to making our own and, of course, baked up a batch of chocolate chip cookies.  Almond milk is my new friend and the boys are once again relishing in their daily morning time smoothie sans yogurt.

I’m planning to put together a page in the coming weeks that will talk about all the new ingredients we’re using and where best to find them, (that in itself was a learning process!) but for today I thought I’d just toss up one of our very first attempts at a gluten and dairy free dessert that was enjoyed with the spoils of our summer blueberry picking.  I got the idea for this sweet finish from our camping trips where we cook a three ingredient blueberry crisp low and slow in the dutch oven while we we prepare and eat dinner.  It takes it’s sweet time to cook up, but once it hits that magical place you’ll find it’s well worth the wait.

Start out by mixing together some fresh blueberries, a pour of agave syrup, a dabble of coconut cream and a little vanilla in a bowl or, if you’re genuinely lazy like me, straight into your baking dish.

Alright, we’ve got the berries, now we’re in need of a little oatmeal streusel topping… aka- grab a bowl and start dumping.  For the flour, I used Trader Joe’s gluten free flour mix but have since changed it up by making my own mix using Silvana’s recipe from Silvana’s Kitchen because seriously, her mix is excellent and why reinvent the wheel if you don’t need to?

Combine that bowl of dry goodness together and spread it over the top of your berries.  Finally place large dabs of butter across the top of the streusel.  In this case, when I refer to butter, I’m talking Earth Balance; our new go to dairy free spread that has almost made me stop missing the real thing.

If you wanted, you could blend the butter into the mixture with a fork or pastry blender, but I return once again to the laziness claim.  Don’t worry too much.  It will all be good in the end.  I pinky promise.

Now cover that sweet dish up with a little foil and let it bake in the oven for about an hour.  This will give time for the blueberry goodness to rise up and the buttery delight to drop down.  It will all meld together in beautiful harmony and joy will once again be restored to the dessert hour.  You know it’s ready when there’s no dry oatmeal left and it looks all moist and fabulous like.  It’s at this point that I remove the foil and give it another 10 minutes or so to crisp and brown up before pulling it out of the oven.

I didn’t have any dairy free ice cream at the time I made this but have since put together two AWESOME, if I do say so myself, batches of the cold sweet stuff that would go amazing with this dish.  If you have some on hand, or if dairy isn’t an issue, go ahead and drop a scoop on.

Now this is what summer’s all about.  Grab a spoon and let’s dig in.

Blueberry Coconut Crisp

Yield: 1 9x9 Pan of Crisp

Prep Time: 15 Min

Cook Time: 1 Hr 15 Min

Total Time: 1 Hr 30 Min

Ingredients:

2 Cups Fresh Blueberries
1/4 Cup Agave Syrup
1/3 Cup Coconut Cream
1 tsp Vanilla
1 Cup Gluten Free Oats
1/4 Cup GF Rice Krispies
1/4 Cup GF Flour (Can sub all purpose if gluten isn't an issue)
1/4 Cup Almond Flour
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Shredded Coconut
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 Cup Earth Balance Spread (can sub butter if dairy isn't an issue)

Directions:

In a large bowl mix together the blueberries, agave, coconut cream and vanilla. Set to the side.

For the topping combine the remaining ingredients with the exception of the butter spread into a separate bowl.

Place the blueberry mixture into a 9x9 baking dish and top with the oat mixture.

Place dollops of the butter spread across the top of the oats.

Cover the dish with tin foil and bake at 350 degrees for 60-65 minutes or until top is moist all over and blueberries are bubbling up.

Uncover and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes to lightly brown the top.

Best when served warm from the oven with a scoop of regular or dairy free ice cream.

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