Winter Berry Crumble Buttery Oats (Printer-friendly)
Golden, buttery oat topping over a warm medley of winter berries.
# What you'll need:
→ Berry Filling
01 - 17.6 oz mixed frozen winter berries (blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, red currants)
02 - 6 tbsp granulated sugar
03 - 1 tbsp lemon juice
04 - 2 tbsp cornstarch
→ Oat Crumble Topping
05 - 1 cup all-purpose flour
06 - 1 cup rolled oats
07 - 1/2 cup light brown sugar
08 - 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
09 - 1/4 tsp salt
10 - 8 tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cubed
# Method:
01 - Set oven temperature to 350°F (180°C).
02 - Combine frozen berries, granulated sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch in a large bowl. Toss until evenly coated. Transfer to a 2-quart baking dish.
03 - In a medium bowl, mix flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add cold butter cubes and rub in with fingertips or a pastry cutter until mixture forms coarse crumbs.
04 - Spread the oat topping evenly over the berry mixture in the baking dish.
05 - Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the topping is golden and the berry filling bubbles at the edges.
06 - Allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving warm, optionally with vanilla ice cream or custard.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- It comes together in under an hour, with most of the work happening while the oven does the heavy lifting.
- The contrast between the tart berries and the buttery, slightly sweet crumble topping never gets old.
- You can make it with frozen berries, so there's no scrambling to find perfect fruit in the middle of winter.
02 -
- Don't skip chilling your butter—room-temperature butter will turn the topping dense and cakey instead of crispy and crumbly.
- The bubbling at the edges is your signal that it's done; if it's only warm in the center, give it another few minutes.
03 -
- Keep your butter in the freezer until the last moment—the colder it is, the crumblier your topping will be.
- If the top is browning too quickly but the filling isn't done, loosely tent it with foil for the final few minutes.