Deconstructed Crumble-Berry Pie

It turned colder and that’s where it ends…

For the past few days, I’d been trying to write my “back to school” edition of the Urban Moms Kitchen…but I just couldn’t do it.  I’m not ready to give up lazy mornings drinking my coffee and reading the paper outside on a lounge chair.  I’m not ready to give up taking my time while perusing one of the many farmers’ markets in Toronto.  I’m not ready to give up having afternoon swim parties that turn into late-night barbecues with friends.  

It is exactly that kind of night that inspired this recipe; it’s a little bit hot, and a little bit cold, and it tastes exactly like summer. It is the perfect last-night-of summer, labour-day weekend dessert:

While this dish is great now, feel free to enjoy it long after the last leaves have fallen (I know, sad thought) by using frozen berries.

1 cup pitted cherries 

1 cup berries

¼ cup plus 2 tbsp brown sugar

2 dashes of cinnamon

1 frozen pie crust

vanilla ice cream

¼ cup cold butter cut into chunks 

¼ cup oats

¼ cup flour

Preheat the oven to 350

Put the butter, oats, flour and ¼ cup of the sugar into a small bowl; using a fork or your hands, mix well until its sort of the texture of wet sand.

Put the crumb mixture into a heap onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for about 5-7 minutes or until it sort of flattens out and melts together.

Let cool and then break into crummy bits.

Put the cherries and berries in a small saucepan along with the sugar and second dash of cinnamon.  

Over low-medium heat bring it all to a simmer, stirring every few minutes.

Turn the heat to low and let simmer for about 10 minutes. 

Cover and turn off the heat.

Part 3: The Crust

While the berries are cooking, make you little pies: flatten out the defrosted pie crust and cut in 4 quarters.

Press each quarter into a muffin tin making sure there are no holes or gaps.  It will have quite a bit of over hang and look rustic; that’s perfect

Bake according to the instructions on the box or until the crust is lightly brown.

Remove from the oven and let cool until just a little bit warm.

Part 4: Put it all together: 

Put each pie shell onto a separate plate. 

Fill each one with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Top with a big spoonful of the warm berries.

Finish it off with some of the crumble.

Enjoy…

Note: this can all be made ahead of time…just make sure to reheat the berries for a minute or two so they are nice and warm and make your ice cream a little bit melty