Amish Recipe Secrets: How to Make My Aunt’s Delicious Blackberry Crisp

by | Published on Aug 6, 2021 Last updated Jan 26, 2024 | Amish Food

Take a sweet stroll down memory lane with me and bake up some berry goodness. This Amish blackberry crisp recipe, with a secret ingredient, will transport you right to my aunt's kitchen.

Today I’m sharing a sweet treat: an Amish blackberry crisp recipe that takes me back to my childhood. One of my favorite memories is visiting my aunt’s farmhouse as a young girl and helping her pick plump, juicy blackberries from the bushes out back. We’d gather bowlfuls of the deep purple berries, our fingers stained inky blue, and then head back to her huge kitchen. There, we’d mix up this simple but scrumptious summer dessert, using the just-picked berries and a secret ingredient she never wrote down.

Here’s the recipe (and you can buy the blackberries at a farmers’ market, online, or in some stores, if you can’t pick them yourself):

Blackberry Crisp

1 c. flour 
1 c. oatmeal 
1/2 c. butter 
1/2 c. sugar 
2 tsp. baking powder 
1/2 tsp. salt 

Directions:
Put one layer on the bottom, then the blackberry filling in the middle and another crust on the top.

If you’re like me, you’ll think, “Filling? How did that sneak in there? I didn’t see it in the list of ingredients!”

Welcome to Amish Cooking 101. Let this be your first Amish recipe secret: never assume the ingredients, or the instructions for that matter, are complete. As you can see here, there’s no mention about baking this thing. Are we supposed to just eat it raw?

Here’s a fruit filling recipe I like, along with baking instructions for the whole dish:

Blackberry Filling

5 to 6 c. blackberries - for frozen berries, defrost & drain them

1/2 to 3/4 c. sugar - depending on how sweet you want this to taste

2 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground cardamom

pinch of salt

4 to 6 tablespoons cornstarch, arrowroot powder (gluten-free, dairy-free, non-GMO, cornstarch substitute), or flour 

Directions:
Put blackberries, sugar, lemon juice, spices, and cornstarch/flour in a large bowl. Gently fold the berries until they are all well coated. Let sit for 30 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Bake 40-50 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly.

There’s one more critical piece of information you need before you can eat this. If you’re a pro at cooking or baking, you might not even notice the missing info. But if you’re new or just really curious, sign up for our newsletter. Then reply to the welcome email and I’ll let you know what it is.

If you try the recipe, I hope it turns out a favorite. Every time I make it, I feel like I’m back in my aunt’s cozy farmhouse kitchen. Within minutes of pulling the crisp out of the oven, my cousins and I would made it disappear, our stained fingers and empty buckets the only proof of our berry-picking adventures.

Happy eating! 🙂

To education and children’s rights,
Torah
Executive Director, Amish Heritage Foundation

By <a href="https://www.amishheritage.org/author/ahf-blog-torah-bontrager/" target="_self">Torah Bontrager</a>
By Torah Bontrager

Torah Bontrager earned her BA from Columbia University in New York City and is the foremost expert on Amish life, culture, and education. She's the author of Amish Girl in Manhattan (a memoir) and Amish Insider blog, and Founder & Executive Director of the Amish Heritage Foundation. A sought-after leader, she helps legal and health professionals, educators, and creatives become culturally literate so they can expand their missions to successfully serve the Amish population. Take her free quiz How Much Do You Actually Know About the Amish? or get her free "54 Popular Myths About the Amish" PDF.

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