There is something about foraging for my own food, it seems to make dishes even more special and taste that much better. We are lucky to live in a place where we have a large apple tree in our backyard and a ton of blackberry bushes nearby. When I pick blackberries it’s such a calming and relaxing activity. I always think back to when I got my first summer job picking raspberries with my mom and sister. Those summers picking taught me a lot about berries and also taught me how fast I can work (especially since I was getting paid by weight!) Blackberries are so delicious; they can be tart or sweet and can be created into a sweet or savory dish. The only downside to fruit like blackberries is either you have to eat them quick or freeze them as they go bad fast. Since we had a whole pile, I decided to combine the delicious fresh blackberries with the tart apples we have in our backyard. This recipe features a combination of sweet blackberries, apples for texture and a buttery, flaky shortbread crust. If you don’t have blackberries or any apples feel free to throw in other fruit like blueberries, pears, raspberries or even mango would taste nice!
I think you will like this recipe BERRY much!
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
Filling
- ¼ cup honey
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 4 Tbsp cornstarch
- 4 cups blackberries
- 3 apples
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
Streusel
- 1/2 cup large flake oats
- 1/3 cup of toasted coconut
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.
- Make the crust: Stir the melted butter,sugar, vanilla, and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the flour and stir until everything is combined. Press the mixture evenly into the baking pan and bake for 15 minutes.
- Make the filling: Combine blackberries, apples, honey, cornstarch, and 1/4cup water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a low boil, mashing berries to break them down. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.Remove from heat, and let cool slightly.
- Make the streusel: Mix the oats, brownsugar, coconut, and flour together in a medium bowl. Cut in the chilled butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Remove the crust from the oven, and turn the oven up to 350°F(177°C). Evenly pour in the filling and then sprinkle with streusel. Bake for30–35 minutes or until the streusel is golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 20 minutes at room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
- Enjoy!
