Mini Microwave Berry Crisps

An easy berry concoction cooks quickly in the micro and is topped with Cinnamon Chex™ streusel. Simply delish!MORE+LESS-

2

cups diced strawberries*

1

cup whole blackberries*

2

tablespoons brown sugar

1

cup Cinnamon Chex™ cereal

whipped cream cinnamon for garnish

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• 1

  Mix berries in a 4-cup microwavable measuring cup or bowl. In a small bowl, mix brown sugar and cornstarch together, then add to berries and mix gently until combined. Cook berries in microwave 6 minutes, stirring after 3 minutes. Set aside to cool.

• 2

  Melt butter in the microwave. In a small bowl, crush Cinnamon Chex™ cereal and add melted butter, stirring to combine well.

• 3

  Divide berries between 4 small ramekins, cups or dishes. Divide Chex™ mixture between the 4 dessert dishes, sprinkling over each. Just before serving, top with whipped cream and dust with cinnamon.

Expert Tips

• *Fresh or frozen berries? Either work in this recipe, but if you use frozen, thaw them first on HALF POWER in the microwave just until no longer frozen. Drain before using in this recipe.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Serving

Calories

200

Calories from Fat

60

% Daily Value

Total Fat

7g

11%

Saturated Fat

3 1/2g

18%

Trans Fat

0g

Cholesterol

15mg

5%

Sodium

110mg

5%

Potassium

260mg

7%

Total Carbohydrate

32g

11%

Dietary Fiber

6g

24%

Sugars

17g

Protein

2g

Vitamin A

10%

10%

Vitamin C

60%

60%

Calcium

8%

8%

Iron

20%

20%

Exchanges:

1/2 Starch; 0 Fruit; 1 1/2 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Skim Milk; 0 Low-Fat Milk; 0 Milk; 0 Vegetable; 0 Very Lean Meat; 0 Lean Meat; 0 High-Fat Meat; 1 1/2 Fat;

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

More About This Recipe

• Berries and Cinnamon Chex cereal hook up in a most unexpected place: the microwave!

  It read like a produce-section personals ad:

  Beautiful berries seek sweet, rich companion. If you've got the right crunch, meet by the micro.

  Oh, they met alright. By my microwave oven! It went something like this:

  Diced strawberries, whole blackberries and raspberries meet each other. Luuuuuuve at first sight.

  They mixed it up a bit in a bowl with some cornstarch and brown sugar.

  Then they bopped into the micro to dance 'til they were all hot and bubbly.

  While they cooled off a bit, Cinnamon Chex cereal showed up with its butter buddy.

  The berries split up into 4 little cups, each with an eye on that Chex.

  The butter melted, the Chex crunched up a tad, and they did a samba that made a sensational streusel topping. Luckily, there was enough to go around.

  Whipped cream and a dusting of cinnamon made this 15-minute dessert a done deal.

  Nobody can resist a foodie fairy tale...right?

  The story might be a stretch, but the recipe is truth all the way. Try it!

  Mmmm! The perfect pairing!

  Fresh or Frozen Berries?

  Berries are starting to arrive on produce shelves (helllloo spring!), and this recipe works great with fresh berries. But if you live further north like I do, it may still be hit and miss to find good ones.

  No worries! Cascadian Farms sells frozen berries that rival the taste of fresh! Look for them in the freezer case at your grocery store. If using frozen berries, thaw them in the microwave on half power and drain completely. I used a combination of fresh and frozen berries in the pictures above.

  More Microwave Recipes

  A few more recipes to heat up your micro:

  Microwave Caramel Pecan Rolls Recipe
  Microwave Dill Tater Snacks Recipe
  Microwave Spicy Apple Pie Recipe
  Microwave Nachos Recipe
  Sparkly Popcorn Snack Recipe

  More from your Microwave

  Check out our articles to help you max your micro!

  Article: Microwave Cooking Basics
  Article: How to Make Potatoes in the Microwave
  Article: How to Make Cupcakes in the Microwave

How to Make Fruit Crisp Without a Recipe

Some people say that a fruit crisp is only a crisp if it has oatmeal in the pastry topping. Without oatmeal, they say, it's called a crumble.

The Easiest Frozen Dessert You Can Make Without a Recipe

Me? I say crisp, and I usually use it in a sentence like this: "More crisp, please. Yes, more."

Because give me a plate of blueberry crisp—juicy sweet-tart berries still warm from the oven crumb topping all buttery and crunchy a heaping spoonful of cold unsweetened whipped cream melting into the top—and I might love you forever.

Just make sure it's homemade. Because crisps are always better when they're made at home. And there's no reason not to make them, especially in times of abundance (like now), because it's easy to learn how to make fruit crisp by heart, a dessert that truly never requires a recipe.

Recipe Summary

• 4 large Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced
• ½ cup butter, melted
• ¾ cup packed brown sugar
• ¾ cup quick cooking oats
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon allspice

Spread the apples evenly in an 8 inch square glass baking dish. A deep dish glass pie plate will also work. In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter, brown sugar, oats, flour, cinnamon and allspice. Sprinkle this topping evenly over the apples.

Cook on full power in the microwave for 10 to 12 minutes, until apples can easily be pierced with a knife. Enjoy!

How to make a Berry Crisp

FRUIT FILLING: Combine frozen mixed berries, flour, sugar, and lemon juice.

TOPPING: Combine flour, sugars, oats, salt, and cinnamon. Stir in melted butter.

ASSEMBLY: Dump the fruit into a deep dish pie plate, then sprinkle the topping over the fruit.

BAKE: Bake at 350°F for about 45 minutes, until the fruit is bubbling and thickened and the topping is light golden brown.

What type of berries to use

FROZEN BERRIES: Using frozen berries gives you the option of making this dessert year round. I recommend frozen mixed berries, which are a combination of blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries.

FRESH BERRIES: If you’d prefer to use in-season fresh berries, you absolutely can. Use the same amount of berries and add 1-2 tablespoons of orange juice, apple juice, or water.

Prefer just BLUEBERRIES? Try my BLUEBERRY CRISP .

Serving and storage

This Berry Crisp is best served slightly warm with scoops of vanilla ice cream. Cold ice cream + warm fruit crisp = ice cream rivers (swoon)!

Leftovers can be stored tightly covered in the refrigerator. You can eat it cold, straight from the from fridge (breakfast, anyone?), or you can reheat individual portions in the microwave.

Note: The structure/integrity of the berries is best shortly after baking. Once this sits in the fridge for a day or two I find that the berries start to break down.

The Essentials of Making a Fruit Crisp

I promised a crisp in four easy steps and I plan to deliver. Here are the essentials.

• Selecting and preparing the fruit.
• Making the crisp topping.
• How to know when the crisp is done.
• Serving the crisp or crumble to applause.

Preparing the Fruit for a Crisp

Crisps are a causal fruit dessert, and by that I mean their requirements for fruit are loose and allow for creativity and resourcefulness. A standard crisp uses about six cups of chopped or sliced fruit, roughly 1 1/2 pounds. Almost all fruit can go into a crisp raw, with one major exception: Apples should be par-cooked before being turned into a crisp. Peeling peaches, plums, and other fruit is totally optional. You can also select frozen fruit for crisps. Say a peach crisp craving strikes in the dead of winter — just make sure that frozen fruit is thawed before baking.

Thickening the Filling with Cornstarch

It is possible to make a fruit crisp without cornstarch, if you’re out or just want to skip it, but cornstarch will magically transform the baking, bubbling fruit juices into a thick and velvety sauce. You’ll see that this recipe calls for two tablespoons of cornstarch, but you can add more or less depending on the juiciness of your fruit. Juicier fruit will need more cornstarch.