Week 17 of 52: Berry Coconut Crisp

My husband loves fruit smoothies. He uses whatever fruit we have on hand, along with some juice like orange juice, and blends them up regularly. The other day, I suggested he use the frozen strawberries that I picked up and they made a great smoothie. So it got me thinking, what else could we do with them.

Then, I watched a show called Recipe Rehab. Not sure if your have ever seen this, but they take really delicious (read fat- and sugar-filled!) recipes and rehab them to be more healthy. This week they rehabbed a traditional southern peach cobbler. One chef used fresh peaches that they grilled and poured on a reduced-sugar-with-no-fat batter. The other chef used frozen berries and peaches along with tapioca with a crumb-style topping. I thought, I will make a crisp with my frozen berries!

I went in search of a variety of recipes. First, I realized that I like crisps and not cobblers. The difference is that a cobbler has more of a bready biscuit style top, where the crisps have a more granola type topping. Next, I realized that there are as many different crips recipes as there are chefs! I finally meshed together a few recipes with the flavors that I most prefer and came up with this week's dessert.

Enjoy!

Berry Coconut Crisp

Preheat oven to 375F.

Filling

3 c frozen strawberries, thawed, quartered - do not drain
4 c frozen blueberries, thawed - do not drain
2/3 c granulated sugar
4 T orange juice, with some pulp
4 T flour

Mix sugar, juice, and flour in a bowl.
Add thawed fruit and mix well.
Pour into a greased 9x13" glass baking pan.

Topping

1/2 c quick-cook oats
1/2 c shredded coconut
1 c brown sugar
3/4 c flour
1 t cinnamon
1/2 c butter, chilled, cubed (1 stick)

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.
Add in butter and mix with hands until crumbly.
Distribute topping over filling evenly.

Bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown on the edges.
Remove from oven, cool for 10 minutes, and serve with ice cream, whipped topping, or vanilla yogurt.