strawberry crumble

It seems that winter isn't ready to leave. I had some strawberries but really wanted something warm and cozy and sweet. I have made many rustic tarts with fruit, but this time, I didn't want pastry, I was craving something more cobbler-like. My mom used to make an apple crisp, and I made a mixed berry crumble when I worked at the Quay Co-op in Cork, Ireland. I'll have to tell you about that sometime. It was my 1st job as a baker and everything was at least vegetarian, and often vegan. I learned so much while I was there, and it was one of the best experiences of my life!

Anyways, I decided to try my hand at a strawberry crumble. This is the first time I've created a dessert recipe from scratch! I'm pretty excited about it. I have followed many recipes over the years, so I thought this might be an easy start. It is so stinkin' good, and I'm a little bit proud of it. It's the perfect combo of sour, sweet, warm, crumbly goodness. It'll definitely go in the book!

STRAWBERRY CRUMBLE

Ingredients:

for the fruit mixture:

1 pound of strawberries,  cleaned and sliced
1 granny smith apple, washed, cored and chopped small (I leave the skin on)
1 c coconut sugar
a couple shakes of ground cinnamon
2 tbsp chia seeds
3 tbsp almond flour
juice of 1 lemon

for the crumble:

10 dates, pitted
1/2 c coconut oil (it's winter so the oil is hard: if it's summer and it is soft, put in fridge for a few minutes)
3/4 c walnuts
1 c rolled oats
1 tbsp flax seeds
4 shakes of ground cinnamon

Method:

heat oven to 350 degrees

Using a large bowl, stir together the ingredients for the fruit mixture. Place into a baking dish.

Using a food processor, chop the dates. They may be super sticky, I had to stop and break them up a bit once or twice.

Add the FIRM coconut oil and walnuts and pulse chop.

Add the rolled oats, flax, and cinnamon and pulse chop one last time.

It should be a nice crumbly mixture. It'll be a little sticky still because of the dates.

Layer the crumble on top of the strawberry mixture.

I baked mine on a jellyroll pan incase it bubbled over, but it didn't. But it also makes the dish easier to take out of a hot oven when it's done.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 35-45 min, then remove the foil and let the top brown for another 15 minutes. I kept my eye on it so it wouldn't burn, but it was fine. Ovens can cook differently, so you might need to adjust the times to suit.

I dug in immediately!

PS: It was delicious the next day for breakfast, and I took some to the office today for a little between client energy boost!

If you need it to be gluten free, substitute the oats for gluten free oats. Adjust it to your liking. I think I'll experiment some more with this basic recipe.

Enjoy!