4 years ago

Cardamom Strawberry Crisp

With juicy strawberries and an irresistibly crunchy topping, this delightful recipe from Twin Cities food blogger greens & chocolate is a wonderful way to enjoy the sweet taste of summer any time of year.

Now that it’s officially fall (according to the calendar, not just the pumpkin spice lattes everywhere), may all of the fall things commence. The boots, the sweaters, the pumpkin decorations, the apple orchard visits, the strawberry crisp recipes, the…wait, what?! Strawberry crisp? I know that doesn’t seem like a very fall-like dessert, but just hear me out. Did I mention it’s Cardamom Strawberry Crisp? It’s worth putting the apple pie on hold for one more day and grabbing a few pints of strawberries at the store instead. I promise!

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We might be sliding into apple and pumpkin season, but part of me is still hanging onto the fruits of summer. When I saw strawberries on sale at the grocery store last week, I knew I had to make one last strawberry dessert before our long farewell until next spring.

My absolute favorite thing to make with strawberries is strawberry crisp (topped with vanilla ice cream, of course) and with the cooler weather, I decided to add some spices to it that would make it more appropriate for autumn – in particular, cinnamon and cardamom. I’m not sure I can ever make strawberry crisp without them now! The cardamom lends a warmth to the flavor of the crisp that works really well with the fresh strawberries and oat-filled crisp topping.

To make it even more fall-like, since it IS officially fall, I added a handful of pumpkin seeds to the crisp topping. I loved not only the little crunch it gave to the strawberry crisp, but also the look it gave to the crisp as it came out of the oven.

Even though I would typically make a crisp for dessert, I have to confess that my son and I ate this for lunch the day I made it. And then for breakfast the next day. Sure, there’s some brown sugar in this recipe, but not even close to as much as there would be in a batch of muffins. So in my book, Cardamom Strawberry Crisp is A-OK any time of the day. Although, instead of ice cream, we did top it with plain Greek yogurt at breakfast time. So delicious!

Cardamom Strawberry Crisp

4-6 servings
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
For the strawberry filling:
1 tablespoon butter
2 pounds strawberries, hulled and diced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cardamom
¼ teaspoon salt

For the topping:
⅓ cup flour (all-purpose or white whole wheat both work)
⅓ cup old fashioned oats
2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cardamom
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and diced into small pieces
¼ cup pumpkin seeds

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 375 F.
  2. In an 8- or 9-inch cast-iron skillet, melt butter over medium heat.
  3. Once melted, add the strawberries, brown sugar, flour, vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom and salt. Stir until everything is well combined. Remove from heat.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom and salt.
  5. Using your fingers or a fork, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles crumbs.
  6. Sprinkle over strawberry mixture and top with pumpkin seeds.
  7. Bake for 30 minutes, or until topping is golden and strawberry filling is bubbling.
  8. Serve, preferably warm with ice cream. Enjoy!