Gluten free berry crisp

So nobody is perfect, especially not me. I know it may look like I am a seasoned chef (ok maybe not) but really, I have just started cooking more & experimenting with food since being diagnosed with Celiac Disease.

Case in point: cherry crisp epic fail

We had fresh cherries so I thought I would make a cherry crisp. I've never made one before, but it don't look too difficult. 

First I set about pitting cherries. I've never done this & did not have a cherry pitter. I looked up online about using a chopstick to push the pit through. I decided to recruit my 14 year old for this task. He thought the chopstick took too long, so he just ripped the cherries open & removed the pit. It did look like a scene out of Dexter in the kitchen 

Anyway, my first mistake was that I did not look up a gluten free recipe. I found a recipe & just substituted GF ingredients. I have not done much baking at all since going gluten free. The problem is GF ingredients do not cook the same as regular flour ingredients. Basically the topping stayed doughy. My husband suggested I put it under the broiler for a few minutes to make it crispier. I left the oven for a minute & this was the result. Burned up cherry crisp. 

We were having company that night & I had bragged I was providing dessert and it may be have been the time of the month when I am a little sensitive, but I am not going to lie--I cried. I was so frustrated. My sweet husband told me it didn't look that bad & would be fine with ice cream. It looked burned, smelled burned and tasted burned. I was not about to force everyone to eat my burned dessert to make me feel better. 

So I put my big girl panties on, looked up a gluten free recipe and went to the store for frozen berries. I was determined to have a crisp! 

This is the recipe I used & this was the perfect end result. Much, much better!

Chef Tracey Bloom's 5 Ingredient Gluten-Free Berry Crisp

15 minutes

45 minutes

1 hour

Serving Size: 8

Ingredients

• 2 12-ounce bags frozen mixed berries, such as blueberries, rasberries, and blackberries, unthawed
• 1/2 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour (King Arthur's works great and is also corn-free)
• 1 1/2 cups gluten-free oats
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar (without caramel coloring, a corn derivative)
• 1 stick butter, slightly softened at room temp

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine berries, 1/4 cup sugar and 2 T flour in large bowl; gently toss to blend well.
3. Transfer berry mixture to 9x9 baking dish.
4. Combine remaining flour, oats, and brown sugar in medium bowl.
5. Cut in butter to oat mixture; rub in with your fingers until topping forms small clumps.
6. Evenly sprinkle topping over berry mixture.
7. Bake until berries bubble and topping is golden brown, about 45 minutes.
8. Let stand 10 minutes.
9. Serve warm or at room temp.

Notes

gluten-free, corn-free, soy-free, peanuts-free, tree nuts-free, egg-free

It was easy & very good. It didn't last long with my family & friends! 

So remember, nobody is perfect & if you fail, try, try again....and it's ok to cry if you need to.