Strawberry Crisp with Brown Butter Oat Topping

Every year when strawberries come back in season, I immediately crave alll of the strawberry crisps/pies/jams/desserts. When my friend Annie recently shared photos of her stunning strawberry rhubarb crisp on Instagram, I was inspired to make my first (of many!) crisp of the season.

Strawberries and rhubarb are a classic combo for a reason — together they make the most perfectly balanced dessert. Truly heaven on earth. In this recipe, I combine strawberries and rhubarb with lemon zest + juice, sugar and vanilla and top the whole thing with a nutty, brown butter oat topping. I’m obsessed with the depth that the browned butter and rye flour add to the topping…it is chef’s kiss!

I made this crisp when we had friends over for dinner last week and one of my friends (who is an amazing cook — hii D!) said it was the best crisp she has ever had. Either she hasn’t had many crisps in her life or this one is really special…but based on how insane this crisp was, I’m thinking it’s the latter! She asked for the recipe so I tested it a couple more times (to my boyfriend’s delight lol) and here we are!

Serves 6-8 (makes one 9x13 inch crisp)

INGREDIENTS

For the strawberry rhubarb filling:

• 3 lbs strawberries*, stems removed and sliced in half

• 3 large stalks rhubarb, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces

• 3/4 cup sugar

• Juice and zest of 3 lemons

• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (can use vanilla extract too)

• 3 1/2 Tbsp corn starch or arrowroot powder

• Pinch of kosher salt

For the brown butter oat topping:

• 1 1/4 cup rolled oats

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour

• 1/2 cup rye flour

• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, browned*

• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste (can use vanilla extract too)

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Make the strawberry rhubarb filling:

   1. Combine all of the ingredients for the filling in a large bowl. Allow to macerate for ~15 minutes while you make the topping.

3. Make the brown butter oat topping:

   1. Mix the oats, flours, brown sugar and salt in a medium bowl until combined.

   2. Pour in the browned butter and vanilla and stir until the wet and dry ingredients are fully incorporated.

4. Assemble and bake:

   1. Pour the strawberry mixture into a 9x13 inch baking dish.

   2. Pour the brown butter oat topping over the strawberry mixture in an even layer. Use your fingers to break up the larger chunks of the topping to ensure even baking.

   3. Transfer to the preheated oven and cook for 35-45 minutes, or until the strawberry mixture is broken down + bubbly and the topping is golden brown + crisp.

   4. Allow the crisp to cool for a minimum of 30 minutes before serving. If you serve it right away, the filling will spill out on the plate (like it did in my photo in this post LOL — I was losing sunlight so had to move quick!). In an ideal world, I like to let it cool for about 45 mins to an hour. It’ll still be slightly warm inside but the filling will be be fully set.

   5. Serve topped with vanilla bean ice cream or whipped cream.

NOTES

• Strawberries — You can usually find those larger 16 oz (1 lb) clamshell containers of strawberries at the grocery store. Just grab three of those guys! Also! If you live near a farmer’s market, I highlyyy recommend using farmer’s market strawberries here. They’re absolutely insane + so sweet this time of year.

• Flour — I love the combination of all purpose and rye flour in this recipe. The rye flour adds a nice depth of flavor in the topping and compliments the nuttiness of the brown butter perfectly. If you don’t have rye flour, you can just use 1 full cup of all purpose flour.

• Making browned butter — Add the butter to a medium skillet over medium-high heat and allow the butter to bubble, stirring constantly with a spatula until the milk solids begin to brown and the butter begins to smell nutty. Stirring is important, as it ensures the butter browns evenly. The butter will spatter a bit as it cooks and that’s totally normal – it’s the water in the butter cooking out. Once the milk solids in the butter turn amber in color, immediately transfer to the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients. This will stop the cooking process (the butter can go from perfectly brown to burnt really fast).