The Art and Soul of Blackberry Season
By Sidonie Maroon, Culinary Educator for The Food Co-op
Is it just me, or are the Himalayan blackberries slow to ripen? It’s such an abundant year, with apples and pears hanging thick on the branches. Everywhere I go, I’m seeing fruit. And yet, when I come up to a patch, the blackberries are still more green and red than black.
There’s no shortage of blackberry patches along my walks, though I’ve noticed a few have been cleared—plowed under for development or cut back with bush mowers along trails. Still, plenty remain, and I can’t resist stopping to pick a few ripe ones whenever I pass by.
I ordered three kinds of thornless blackberries to plant in 25-gallon pots next spring in my courtyard from Raintree Nursery. I chose Prime Ark Thornless Blackberries, which don’t need a trellis and grow on the primocanes of the previous year; Twilight Thornless Blackberry, which has short canes; and Triple Crown, which is supposed to have a bounteous harvest but very high canes. So, we’ll see what happens. I’ve never grown blackberries in pots before, but my fall raspberries are thriving, so I’m optimistic.
Crisps vs. Crumbles: A Sweet Debate
Blackberries are the perfect fruit for crisps and crumbles. While often used interchangeably, the two desserts have differences that set them apart.
A crisp features a topping made with oats, butter, flour, and sugar, creating a golden, crunchy layer that contrasts with the bubbling fruit beneath. A crumble skips the oats and relies on a more pastry-like topping—still buttery and sweet, but with a softer texture. Both are simple, rustic, and adaptable, making them perfect for featuring fresh fruit.
For those new to baking, crisps and crumbles offer a doorway into the kitchen. Unlike pies, which require rolling and crimping of dough, these desserts are forgiving. The topping comes together with ease and can be spread over the fruit with carefree abandon.
Why Blackberries Shine
Crisps and crumbles are met with wide smiles at gatherings. The warm, jammy fruit married with the buttery pastry feels nostalgic yet indulgent. Blackberries, with their balance of sweet and tart, seep their purple juices into the topping as they bake, creating a dish layered with spacious hospitality.
How to Make a Killer Crisp or Crumble
Personalize Your Toppings: Add ingredients you love, like walnuts, almonds, cinnamon, or thick-cut oats.
Butter is Key: Use unsalted butter and pulse it into the other topping ingredients with a food processor.
Pair with High-Pectin Fruits: Apples or pears help the blackberries set and complement their flavor.
Elevate with Vanilla: Use a whole vanilla bean in your dough. Snip it up and grind it into the oats or flour, pod and all.
Brighten with Lemon: Add lemon zest to the pastry and lemon juice to the fruit mixture.
Choose caramel-noted sweeteners: Opt for unrefined brown sugar, coconut-palm sugar, or dates. Keep the sweetness balanced to let the berries shine.
Serve with Creamy Pairings: Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream is the perfect finishing touch.
Bake with Love: Use a casserole dish you love to look at—it makes serving even more satisfying.
Savor the entire process—from picking the berries and smelling the butter and sugar bake, to sharing with family and friends. A blackberry crisp or crumble isn’t just a dessert—it’s part of the Art and Soul of Summer.
Blackberry and Apple Granola Crisp
Serves 8
Berry and Apple Filling:
¾ cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar) ½ cup for a less sweet rendition
2 tablespoons tapioca starch
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 medium baking apples, cored, peeled, and cut into thin wedges
3 cups fresh blackberries
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Granola Topping:
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
½ cup plus one tablespoon brown sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
¼ teaspoon sea salt
Zest of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or one ground vanilla bean.
Prepare the Oven and Baking Dish:
Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400°F.
Butter an 8- to 10-cup baking dish.
Make the Filling:
In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, tapioca starch, and cinnamon.
Fold in the apple slices and blackberries, ensuring they are evenly coated.
Make the Topping:
In a separate bowl, mix the oats, walnuts, sugar, salt, vanilla and lemon zest together. Add the butter pieces and combine until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Note: I snip the vanilla bean into small pieces with scissors, and then grind it up in a spice grinder.
Assemble and Bake:
Spread the fruit filling evenly onto the prepared baking dish.
Scatter the granola topping over the fruit.
Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F and bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the fruit is tender, bubbling, and the topping is a deep golden color.
Serve:
Allow the crisp to cool slightly before serving.
Serve warm or reheat at 350°F for 10 minutes before serving if needed.
Extra Recipes
All the following recipes would work well with the addition of blackberries. Mix and match fruit, but keep to the same amounts.
Flour-crafted Apple Crisp Bars
Makes a 9 x13 casserole
Flourcraft
½ cup pre-washed quinoa (dry)
½ cup buckwheat groats
¼ cup chickpeas
¼ cup flaxseeds
¼ cup tapioca starch
1 tablespoon psyllium seed husk powder
3 whole cloves
5 allspice berries
¼ teaspoon decorticated cardamom
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 vanilla bean, snipped with scissors into thin-small pieces
Additions
½ sunflower seeds
1 cup pitted dates
½ cup dried apples, chopped
1 cup cold butter ( 2 sticks, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
4 cups chopped apples ( about 3-4 medium apples, a mix of baking and eating types
Prepare a 9 x13 casserole and preheat the oven to 375 F. Using a high-speed blender (Vitamix), grind the flour craft ingredients into a flour, about 1 minute on the highest speed. Sift the flour through a handheld strainer into a large work bowl.
Using a food processor, pulse the sunflower seeds, prunes, figs, raisins and vinegar together into a meal. Add the butter and pulse until it’s the size of small lentils. Add the flour ½ at a time and pulse to combine. Take the dough out and return it to the work bowl.
Add the apples to the food processor and pulse until fine.
With your hands, knead the apples into the dough. Press the mixture evenly into the casserole and bake at 375 F for 30 minutes or until firm and golden on top. Cool and cut into bars.
Apple Plum Poppy Seed Crisp with Rye
Makes 1 large crisp or 2 smaller crisps
Serves 10
I made two of these crisps this morning, delicious, one for us to sample at breakfast, and the other for my husband to take to a staff retreat. We’re having a long overdue rainy morning, so the late summer plums and apples baked into crisp feels right.
My inspiration was the two bags of plums and apples I was gifted. I’d put most of them in the food dehydrator yesterday, and they have filled the house with the smells of sweet baking fruit, but saved back enough plums and apples for crisp. Thoughts of a poppy seed strudel I’d made with rye earlier in the summer came to mind as I dreamed up this crisp—hmm rye, plums, apples and poppy seed with a bit of brandy, yes, and the inner food whisperer added — How about sunflower seeds?
Fruit
6 cups (5 medium apples) chopped medium dice local baking apples on the tart side; several kinds work well
3 cups (6 plums) local Italian plums chopped into a medium dice
4 tablespoons tapioca flour
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons brandy (I had some homemade vanilla brandy)
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Topping
1 cup rye flakes toasted
2 cups rolled oats, toasted
½ cup sunflower seeds
1 cup local rye flour
3 tablespoons local poppy seeds
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ to ¾ cup sugar (½ cup will be more breakfast, tea and ¾ cup dessert)
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup cold unsalted butter (two sticks), cut into ½-inch cubes
Preheat oven to 375 F 190C
Butter casserole(s) for crisp
Fruit
Chop the fruit into medium dice, sprinkle tapioca flour, sugar, spices and brandy with fruit, mix and let sit while you make the topping.
Topping
Toast oats and rye flakes together in a heavy-bottomed pan, stirring occasionally. I use cast iron, about 4-5 minutes on low, they will smell toasty.
In a food processor, add: 2 cups of the toasted oat/rye flakes, rye flour, sunflower seeds, poppy seeds, sea salt, cinnamon, and sugar. Spin to combine everything should be spun into a meal. Add cold butter and pulse 6-8 times until the size of small peas. Add the last cup of rye/oat flakes and briefly pulse to just combine.
Finishing and Baking
Lay fruit on the bottom of the casserole and top it. Gently mix and move the topping so that some of it goes down into the fruit. Bake for 45-50 minutes. It should smell wonderful; serve warm to local people.
Pear Tart with Crumble Crust
Makes one 9-inch tart with enough for some extra smaller tarts
Simple, elegant pear tart with a rosette of pear slices.
Pear Ingredients
10 medium pars
Use 6 to make compote
Use 4 for slices on top of the tart
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup whole cane sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Instructions for pear compote
Preheat oven to 425 F
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
Small dice pears, combine dry ingredients and sprinkle over pears and dot with butter
Roast for 20 min. Stir the pears and roast for another 15 minutes. Cool and puree until smooth.
Instructions for Pears
Quarter, core and slice pears thinly ⅛ inch
If they break too easily when you’re forming the tart, blanch them for 1 minute
Crumble Crust Ingredients
2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup gluten-free flour or flour of your choice
1 cup walnuts
1 cup pitted dates
1 cup unsalted cold butter, cut into small cubes
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ cup whole cane sugar
Instructions for crumble dough
In a food processor, combine all crumble ingredients and pulse until they come together like a cookie dough.
Constructing and Baking Tart
Press the crumble dough ½ inch thick firmly into the bottom of a round 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom and chill while preparing the pears
Preheat oven to 375 F
Layer pureed cold pear compote over the crumble crust about ½ inch thick
Starting on the outside of the tart, overlap the pear slices by ½ with the peel side up and bottom stuck into the sauce as an anchor. Keep going around forming a rosette until you reach the middle of the tart. Use your thumb to hold the slice before in place as you add the next one. In the center, fold the two slices’ ends towards each other to fill in. Brush the pears with melted butter.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the pears are cooked as liked.
