Saskatoon Berry Crumble

The other day, my mom invited the girls and me over to her house for a visit. She showed me her Saskatoon berry bushes that were just loaded with berries! She asked me if I wanted to pick some while she watched the girls - of course I agreed. I picked a whole ice cream pail full!

That night, I wanted to make a tasty dessert that featured these delicious berries (they're native to Western and Central Canada and they're a superfood with high levels of antioxidants). Unfortunately, I didn't have any shortening to make a pie, so I improvised and made a tasty Saskatoon berry crumble (aka crisp). It was delicious!

Here's the recipe.

Saskatoon Berry Crumble

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup quick oats
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ⅓ cup butter
• 1 ½ cups water
• 1 ½ cups granulated white sugar
• 3 Tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 5 cups Saskatoon berries

Directions:

Wash and sort the Saskatoon berries and set them aside.

Mix together the flour, oats, brown sugar, and butter to make the crumble topping (I use my hands!). Press ½ of the mixture down into a 9 x 11" casserole dish.

In a large pot, mix together the water, white sugar, cornstarch, vanilla and Saskatoons. Bring the mixture to a simmer on low-medium heat and simmer for 45-60 minutes to make a nice, thick jam-like filling. Stir often.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.

After the berry mixture has cooked, pour it over the crumble base in the casserole dish. Sprinkle the remainder of the crumble mixture on top and bake the whole thing for 30 minutes or until the top is a nice golden brown. Enjoy (with ice cream or a big cup of coffee)!