{recipe + recycling} Compost Bucket Berry Crisp: The Best Berry Crisp Starts with the Leftover Dregs of Another Crisp

What do you do when you have a bit of soggy, leftover fruit crisp or cobbler, but need to bring a new fruit crisp to a party? Why, you mix it all together and get a crisp that’s even better than the sum of its parts: the crisp within a crisp. Frankencrisp? Crisp-ception? I’m going with the compost bucket crisp, because that’s where the old crisp would have ended up – and that would have been a travesty.

See, I had this much blueberry crisp leftover, and while still super tasty, it was pretty soggy and soft. I hate wasting food, especially food as good as this, so I was determined to make use of it. (This is not dissimilar to my philosophy on making bread pudding, by the way.) I mean who wants to resign that blueberry goodness to the compost bucket? Not me.

I mixed about 4 cups of quartered fresh strawberries with the remainder of the blueberry crisp, which formed the base of a new crisp. No additional sugar or seasonings needed, because the blueberry stuff already took care of that.

Then I threw together a topping of oatmeal, butter, flour, and brown sugar, and about 30 minutes later, a fabulous berry crisp came out of the oven.

The best part: it doesn’t just have to be crisp: any leftover fruity berry dessert, like cobbler or pie, could handle this treatment.

Recipe: Compost Bucket Berry Crisp 
makes one 9 x 13 crisp

• 2-4 cups of leftover berry crisp, pie, or cobbler
• 4 cups berries (if strawberries, quarter them – otherwise, leave them whole)
• 1 cup oats
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• large pinch salt
• 1/2 cup cold butter, cut in small pieces

METHOD:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• If your leftovers are in big chunks, break them up into smaller pieces. (i.e., if you have big pieces of pie crust.) Combine leftovers with fresh berries and mix well. Spread into 9 x 13 pan and press down with the back of a wooden spoon or spatula.
• Combine dry ingredients. Add butter pieces and mix with a pastry blender, fork, or your fingers until crumbly. The butter pieces should be about the size of lentils. If there are flat pieces the size of cornflakes, that is OK too.
• Sprinkle evenly on top of berry mixture. Press down gently with wooden spoon or spatula.
• Bake about 30 minutes at 350 degrees, until topping is brown and fruit is bubbling.
• Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.