Blueberry Crumble
Whether you call it a Blueberry Crumble or a Blueberry Crisp, it’s all good. After all, there is something quintessentially American and summery about a generous dish of juicy, sweet-tart blueberries nestled under a buttery, crunchy, crisp crumble topping. A blueberry crumble is the perfect dessert for a summer meal, a BBQ potluck with friends, or just a cold, winter night when you need to remember what summer tastes like.
Because my hubby lovingly tends a patch of blueberries in our yard, I have blueberries to use all year ’round. In summer, when they are coming out of my ears, I bring this crumble or my famous Blueberry Coffee Cake to every get-together I can. People always enjoy both of them, so hopefully I’m not wearing out my blueberry welcome! Besides, I’m very proud that those delicious berries are grown by my man!
This recipe has a “secret ingredient” in the crumble topping: baking powder! It gives the topping a texture more like a crispy, buttery cookie instead of a sandy crumble. YUM!!! While it’s true it’s best to eat a Blueberry Crumble the day you make it, that’s not going to be a problem, is it? 😉🤣 Let’s get baking!
Be sure to pin this recipe because you WILL want to make it again and again! 😁
Blueberry Crumble Ingredients
- 6 cups blueberries
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 Tbsp Instant Clear Jel (see note below)
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ½ cup water
- ¾ cup flour
- ½ cup oats
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 6 Tbsp butter, room temp
Ingredient Notes:
You can absolutely make this with frozen blueberries – I do all winter! After tossing the berries with the sugar, Clear Jel and water, simply allow the berries to thaw out before pouring into the pan to bake.
Instant Clear Jel is worth the effort to find. You can buy it online (for example, King Arthur sells it) or in cooking shops. It makes fruit desserts like crisps and pies foolproof – no more runny, soupy fruit desserts!
If you can’t find Instant Clear Jel, substitute 1 Tbsp. of cornstarch. However, you will need to also make the following changes to the recipe:
- Omit the ½ cup water.
- Bake the dish until the fruit is bubbling all throughout – not just around the edges – or you will have blueberry soup on your hands. The entire dish needs to be bubbling for the cornstarch to work its magic.
- If the topping gets too brown for your liking before the filling is bubbling throughout, just tent it with a piece of foil.
How to Make Your Blueberry Crumble
Preheat oven to 375.
While the oven preheats, in a large glass or stainless mixing bowl combine sugar and Clear Jel. Add blueberries and toss to coat. Then drizzle the water over the fruit mixture and stir to moisten all the sugar.
Pour the berry mixture into an 8” sq. baking dish, or any equivalent sized pan – I use a medium oval baker sometimes. It’s very important that the pan you choose has ample room for the fruit to “bubble up” during baking. Unless of course you love cleaning burnt fruit juices and sugar off your oven floor…
For the crumble topping, in a medium bowl combine flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut butter into flour-oat-sugar mixture. Make sure butter is evenly distributed and all the flour is coated. Your mixture should form loose clumps:
Distribute crumble mixture in marble-sized pieces evenly over the fruit. An easy way to do this is to grab a handful of the crumble mix, squeeze in your hand to form a solid ball, and break off pieces.
Bake until vigorously bubbling all around the edges and topping is well browned, 40-50 minutes. Mmmmm…just look at that delicious evidence of blueberry volcanic activity! See what I mean about using a deep enough pan?
I like my fruit crisps served pretty plain, with maaaaybe a dollop of fresh whipped cream. I want to savor the perfectly thickened, summer-ripe fruit and that amazing buttery, crunchy crumble! Sigh. Sooooo delish! 😌
Enjoy!
Looking for other things to do with a bounty of blueberries? Try these three ideas…
Blueberry Crumble
Ingredients
- 6 cups blueberries
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 Tbsp Instant Clear Jel*
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ½ cup water
- ¾ cup flour
- ½ cup oats
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 6 Tbsp butter - room temp
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375.
- In a large glass or stainless mixing bowl combine sugar and Clear Jel. Add blueberries and toss to coat; drizzle the water over fruit mixture and gently fold and stir till all the sugar is moistened.
- Pour berries into an 8” sq. baking dish or equivalent pan – I use a medium oval baker sometimes.
- In a medium bowl combine flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Use a pastry blender or 2 knives to cut butter into flour-oat-sugar mixture. Make sure butter is evenly distributed and all the flour is coated. Your mixture should form loose clumps.
- Distribute crumble mixture in marble-sized pieces all over the fruit. An easy way to do this is to grab a handful of the crumble mix, squeeze in your hand to form a solid ball, and break off pieces.
- Bake until vigorously bubbling all around the edges and topping is well browned, 40-50 minutes.