Happy New Year's everyone! Hope you all had a memorable celebration, whether it was couch-lounging small or Times Square big. Personally, I got together with some family for the famous ball-drop & countdown. We played games, laughed hard, and feasted on delicious food. My aunt made an array of creative dishes, including flame grilled veggies, sweet yams, and a traditional Chinese rice dish called yau fan (a gf version), which deserves its own post!

There were other sides and mains of course (to satisfy each guest), but everything worked surprisingly well together. I was in charge of dessert - aka my favorite course (: My family was staying at a hotel nearby, and luckily it had a kitchen! With minimal ingredients on hand, my mom and I made this classic berry crisp. It's simple, quick, and relatively hard to screw up.

Enjoy this recipe, or customize it with your own filling!

Ingredients:

1-2 Bags Frozen Berries (of choice)
1 GF Pie Shell
2 Cups Brown Sugar
2 -3 Cups GF Rolled Oats
Small Pack of GF gingersnap cookies*
Melted Smart Balance or Butter (to taste)

*I crushed these up and mixed with the topping - they added a zesty flavor that paired nicely with the berries

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Sauté berries with butter (or substitute) on stovetop until a compote forms
• Pour mixture into pie shell
• Mix together brown sugar, oats, crushed ginger snaps, and melted butter or substitute until a crumbly mixture forms (consistency should be on the thicker side)
• Pour topping over pie shell
• Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until topping is golden brown & crisp