Berry Crisp for One

Have you ever eaten at a restaurant by yourself?

If you say yes, then I might cry. No really, I have issues seeing people eating alone. I feel so bad that I’ve considered inviting myself over to join the person. The other part of my problem is that I have a total double standard. I don’t have a problem with the idea of me eating alone, and I do it in the food court at the mall sometimes. Is that really considered eating alone though? My husband piped up at this point to inform me that I wasn’t actually eating with anyone, so, uhm, “yes” he says.

Cooking for one can be challenging, but there are some really great recipes out there designed for exactly that number of people. I had such good luck with the single serving whole wheat chocolate chip cookie that I thought I’d try another single serving dessert. I am married but my husband wasn’t interested in having dessert so essentially I was baking for one.

Making dessert for yourself means that the dessert has to be easy to make and of course not giant portions. I really don’t feel up to slaving in the kitchen for an hour for just lil’ ole me only to end up with a dessert for 8. Thankfully crisps are mad easy to make and you can summarize it in two steps.

Step 1. Mix together the fruit, sugar, and assorted ingredients for the bottom layer. Mmm, sugary berries.

Step 2. Mix together the stuff that makes the crumb topping and pile it on top of the berry mixture. Mmm, buttery.

Well, I guess there’s four steps. It would be kind of weird to not bake it after the assembly, and then you have to patient and let the crisp cool a bit before you dive into it. One of the only things that can cause nastier mouth burns than pizza cheese is the berry goo at the bottom of a crisp you didn’t let cool down long enough.

Oh my goodness this stuff is so good. My husband had a couple bites and loved it too. Note to self, make two next time. In fairness, he said he really didn’t want it and he really only had those bites after the third time I asked him to try it. If you are good at math and have lots of ramekins laying around there is no limit to how many of these you can make at one go.

Individual dessert servings like these go very well at hosted things. People like having their own mini dessert because it’s fun. 🙂 Prepare them ahead of time and then simply pop them in the oven right before dessert time. Boom, dessert to impress. Who wouldn’t love some berries coated covered in buttery crisp topping? Seriously, does that person exist? If they do, I’ll have their serving.

By the way, you can use other kinds of berries if you’re not into blueberries. Blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, or a combination of them would also be lovely.

If it’s hot where you are, I highly suggest a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Nothing beats the heat like a la mode. Or maybe some whipped cream. Or both. My husband picked up how to make homemade whipped cream by watching his mom make it as a kid. It’s delicious and now he’s the official whipped cream ninja in charge of making it when we’re at his mom’s house.

Berry Crisp for One Recipe
(1 serving)

Filling Ingredients:

3/4 cup blueberries
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

Topping Ingredients:

2 teaspoons butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons rolled oats
a pinch cinnamon (optional, but I recommend it)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a small bowl gently mix together the blueberries, white sugar, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon flour. Set it aside.
In another small bowl, use a fork to cut the butter into 1 tablespoon of flour.
Mix in the brown sugar, oats and cinnamon.
In a small oven safe ramekin, add the prepared blueberry “filling.”
Sprinkle the crumble on top of the blueberries.
Place the ramekin on cookie sheet and bake the crisp in the preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until the filling is bubbling and the crisp is browned on top.

Slightly adopted from: An Edible Mosaic

Rating: