I don’t mean to eschew responsibility, but I swear sometimes desserts just happen in our house. I wasn’t planning to bake anything last Friday, but I had a pint of blueberries in the fridge along with a few leftover stalks of rhubarb, and there were some green apples in the fruit bowl… before I knew what I was doing, this crisp was bubbling away in the oven and the kitchen smelled amazing.

That’s the best thing about crisps, crumbles, and the like. You don’t really have to plan them, because you probably already have everything you need–and if you don’t, you can improvise. I didn’t set out to use an apple, but I didn’t have enough blueberries, so in it went–and it was delicious.

This is the first time that I used whole wheat flour in my topping, and let me tell you, I’m never going back. Why haven’t I been doing this my entire (baking) life? It imparted a nutty, toasty flavor that worked so well with the oatmeal, and was a perfect compliment to the tart, juicy filling.

The topping can be made with either butter or coconut oil (for a vegan version). Serve the crisp with sorbet, vanilla ice cream, or frozen yogurt. I baked my crisp in an 11-x-7-inch rectangular dish, but you can use any dish that holds about 6 cups. An 8-inch square pan would work, as would a deep dish pie plate.