vegan blueberry crisp

a few weeks ago, a friend of mine brought over a blueberry-peach crisp for a dinner party. it was very tasty, but clearly laden down with sugar and oils that made my stomach hurt something dreadful. i knew that i could recreate the dish in a way that would leave me feeling satisfied (but not nauseous) by substituting some of the ingredients she used for healthier ones.

crisps are one of the easiest desserts to make-- and, fortunately for me, to veganize! a classic crisp would be made with a fruit filling- fruit tossed with a few cups of sugar and some cornstarch- covered with a layer of crispety crumbs- oats and flour mixed with brown sugar and butter.

sounds like a heart attack!

i decided that, for this dessert, i would take something that has so much potential to be healthy and make it meet that potential, but in a delicious way.

while making this crisp, i had a spark of curiosity.

the backstory to this spark of curiosity is, quite simply, that i purchased a jar of speculoos cookie butter the day before and immediately was damned to a slow death of cookie-butter caused diabetes and heart failure because DAMN that stuff is delicious!! (a healthy recreation of it may or may not be coming soon enough!)

i think that, if you are not opposed to great amounts of sugar and oils and processed food, substituting the almond butter for cookie butter would make this crisp absolutely out-of-this-GALAXY delicious. blueberries and spices are one of my favorite unexpected flavor combinations (as you will see in this recipe) and that cookie butter would amp up the flavor-factor by 100%.

but... back to the healthy version! i hope you all enjoy this simple and incredibly healthy dessert as much as i did!

INGREDIENTS-

filling:

• 2 pints of fresh blueberries (or about 4 cups of frozen blueberries)

• 1 tbsp cornstarch (optional, but i used it)

• 2 tsp lemon juice + zest of half of a lemon

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

• 1/2 tsp cardamom or ginger (or both, go crazy)

• 2 Tbsp water

crispy part:

• 1 1/2 cups oats

• 1/4 cup almond flour

• 1/4 cup almonds, chopped (sub your favorite nut-- would be delicious with pecans or walnuts or hazelnuts!)

• 1/3 cup almond butter

• 2-3 Tbsp maple syrup (or more, to taste)

• 1 Tbsp cinnamon

• 1/2 Tbsp cardamom or ginger (whichever one you used in the filling-- keep it consistent)

instructions:

1. preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.

2. take your desired medium-to-large-sized baking dish (like the size of one of those tin lasagna pans everyone's aunt uses to bring over-baked baked pasta to a family party*) and put all of the fillings ingredients right into it. give them a stir until everything is coated.

3. in a microwaveable bowl, combine almond butter and maple syrup and microwave 30 seconds. stir together until smooth. toss in the rest of the ingredients to coat. sprinkle overtop of filling in an even layer. bake for about 35 minutes or until the fruit layer has visibly thickened and is bubbling beneath the crumble, which should be browned.

*i used a ceramic baking dish that was about 10x10 and i liked how the fruit layer was short and there was crumble on every single bite!

couldn't help but sneak a bite before i could take the picture!