I love dessert. I love butter, sugar and cream — and all of the other sinful ingredients that go into a decadent dessert.  However, I’ve been on a quest to lighten up my desserts, to reduce my sugar intake and to substitute more “healthy” ingredients into my recipes.

I thought I would start with a crisp.  I made a light version of a strawberry rhubarb crisp a few months ago.  It was delicious.  But, now blueberries are in season, so I thought I would try my hand at a healthy blueberry crisp. I swapped out white sugar for maple syrup — a natural sugar.  I included orange juice to add some natural sweetness as well as the zest of orange and lemon which pairs perfectly with the blueberries. Instead of butter, I used safflower oil as the “fat” in the topping.  I added walnuts and oats for texture.

I’m really pleased with how it turned out.  In fact, my whole family thoroughly enjoyed this crisp — even my mother (who can see right through my healthy dessert recipes) raved about it!

The beauty of this recipe is that you can swap the blueberries for other berries of your choice.  You can eat it just as it is, or you can top it with ice cream, a dollop of cream or greek yogurt. I bet this would work out great with apples.  I can’t wait for apple season . . . .

Blueberry CrispServes 8-10 people

8 cups of blueberries1/4 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice1/4 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juicezest of one orangezest of one lemon3/4 cup of maple syrup (grade B)1.5 tablespoons of cornstarch

For the topping:

3/4 cup of brown rice flour3/4 cup of almond meal1 cup of quick cooking oats1/2 teaspoon of salt1/2 cup of safflower oil3/4 cup of maple syrup1/3 cup of chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine blueberries orange juice, lemon juice, zest, maple syrup and cornstarch.  Mix to combine.  Pour blueberry mixture into a 9 by 13 inch baker.

In a separate bowl, add brown rice flour, almond meal, oatmeal, salt, safflower oil, maple syrup and chopped walnuts.  Mix to combine. The topping will be loose. It will not be crumbly like a more traditional crumb topping made with butter. I’ve included a picture below so you can see the consistency.

Spoon topping over blueberry mixture.  Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Crisp is done when berries burst open and bubble.

Helpful hint: Don’t serve the crisp right from the oven.  Let it sit a bit so that it sets up — it will be easier to dish out.