Reminiscent Recipes: Strawberry Crisp

Today marks the official start to a new monthly series--"Reminiscent Recipes." I'm writing "Reminiscent Recipes" over at Lake Norman Mommies the first Monday of every month, and I'll re-post here. Each recipe will include a special story or memory! See my inspiration for this series here. 

Growing up in North Carolina, strawberry season was one of my most favorite times of the year. Although my parents purchased most of our produce at the grocery store, I reveled in the times they let us pick berries at a local farm. 

Inevitably, it seemed more strawberries ended up in my stomach than in my bucket when I picked. We lived almost within walking distance of the strawberry patch, and it was tempting not to stop and pick every day once I got my driver’s license.

A few weeks ago we took our two girls to that same farm to start making their own memories at the strawberry patch. As I watched my 2 little redheads grab for the ripe, red berries and sneak one of two in their mouths, I saw visions of myself all those years ago.

How could I tell 2-year-old Emma not to eat one? I knew her same temptation. I still felt it!

The next weekend we took the girls to a Strawberry Festival at another farm..

We dressed the girls in their strawberry outfits, and I watched them play on miniature farm equipment, ride a cow “train,” watch bees make honey, feed animals at the petting zoo and, of course, taste some of the freshest strawberries you could even imagine.

We came home tired but full of memories. I washed off the strawberries and set out to making a strawberry crisp that I hope will become a yearly tradition after a day full of strawberry picking.

Hope you enjoy this as much as my family did!

Strawberry Crisp

3 pints (6 cups) fresh strawberries

½ c. sugar

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. lemon zest

3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

Mix berries, sugar, lemon juice and zest, and flour in large bowl. Set aside.

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. packed brown sugar

2/3 c. rolled oats

½ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. salt

10 Tbsp. cold, unsalted butter (cut into small pieces)

Combine dry ingredients in bowl of food processor (or blender). Add butter and pulse repeatedly for 2-3 seconds at a time, just until mix is clumpy.

In a 9x13 baking dish, spread berry mixture evenly across bottom. Crumble topping over berries evenly. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes or until strawberries are bubbling and topping is crispy. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

*Notes: This recipe was originally for blueberry crisp. When I tried another strawberry recipe and didn’t like how it turned out, I turned to this recipe because I know we love it with blueberries! I’m sure you can use it with any berries!

*I’ve tried cutting the sugar in half and using ½ honey as a sweetener in its place. It tasted great that way as well!

What are some of your favorite strawberry recipes? Did you pick strawberries as a child? Do you still? 

I'm linking this post up with:

Liked this post? You might also enjoy Mary Lindsey's Chocolate Cake. 

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*This post was originally published on the Lake Norman Mommies blog. 

I'm linking up with: This Chick Cook
Melt in Your Mouth Mondays

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