Blueberry Crumble

Can we please take a moment to appreciate the glory that is a fruit crumble?

Okay, thanks.
I know a lot of people who love cobblers. Sure, they're yummy, but they are often overly-sweet, have tasteless fruity innards and too many sticks of butter even to think about. There is no way to eat a traditional cobbler and feel good afterwards. No way.

That's why I prefer 'crumbles'; they have a thin crust and a crumbly top, but the emphasis is on the fruit. And that's where the emphasis should be: where all the flavor is. You know I'm a fan of anything that emphasizes real fruit.

Not only does this blueberry crumble recipe emphasize the sweet tang of fresh summer blueberries, but take a look at the list of ingredients. For a baked dessert, there are  surprisingly few ingredients, and there's no butter, lard, or any of that crud. Yuck. There's just goodness in this recipe: goodness and a bit of crunch.

Let me be frank: I suck at baking. Have you ever looked at my page of dessert recipes and wondered why there are so few recipes for baked goods? Now you know why. My baked goods consistently fail because I don't have the patience or trust to follow recipes. That's why I started writing my own recipes, really- I don't like following other people's recipes.

But let me tell you how proud I am of this recipe. I came up with this recipe randomly one weekend, and IT WORKED ON THE FIRST TRY! I was so proud. Now I am sharing with you my most beloved baking recipe and joy at coming up with it. Enjoy.

Also, I just want to put you on notice that starting June 16, I am leaving for a five-and-a-half-week residential camp. There are rules about when I can and can't use my laptop and phone, but I'll do my best not to go missing-in-action. I will be eating every meal at a cafeteria (which will take some getting used to, since I cook at least 2/3 of my own meals all the time), and I won't have a kitchen to prepare recipes to share online. Therefore, I will be using what free time I have to add to the resources, tips and random musings I share on my Blog page. Be sure to stop by every once in a while to take a look at what I've been working on. ;)

Chau!

Blueberry Crumble

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of flour
• 3/4 cup of oats
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/2 cup of coconut oil, melted
• 2 and 1/2 cups of blueberries, fresh or frozen
• 3 tablespoons of maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Line an 8x8 brownie pan with parchment paper or grease it.
2. Combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and coconut oil in a large bowl.
3. In a small saucepan, combine the blueberries, maple syrup, vanilla an lemon juice. Heat the mixture up as you would a compote. Let it simmer for around three minutes.
4. Divide the crumbly flour mixture into two equal parts.  Spread one half on the bottom of the pan.
5. Pour the blueberry mixture onto the bottom crumble layer in the pan.
6. Sprinkle on the remaining crumble mixture.
7. Bake for 25-40 minutes, being sure to remove it from the oven once the top turns a golden brown.
8. Let the crumble cool for about 5 minutes, and then dig in!

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