Apricot Strawberry Grilled Crisp

Hey there!

I’m back again from another adventure. Although I’m slightly confused as to what day it is, what time zone I’m in, and who is going to do all of my laundry before leaving again this weekend for a wedding, I have something sweet + summery for you today.

Apricot Strawberry Grilled Crisp | edibleperspective.com #vegan #glutenfree
Apricot Strawberry Grilled Crisp | edibleperspective.com #vegan #glutenfree

Chris and I were on the east coast last week and just got home last night. He had work training in Fairfax, VA for a few days, so we thought it would be fun if I came along. I was able to bring work with me and stay busy while Chris was working so it worked out well.

After 2 days in Fairfax we planned to head to DC for a long weekend to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary. I hadn’t been to DC since 6th grade and Chris had somehow never been. We lucked out with very comfortable weather on Saturday and pretty much walked until our legs couldn’t walk any longer. The two meals I ate for breakfast—plus mimosas + coffee—kept me fueled all day long.

Apricot Strawberry Grilled Crisp | edibleperspective.com #vegan #glutenfree
Apricot Strawberry Grilled Crisp | edibleperspective.com #vegan #glutenfree

It was the first time either one of us had really take a complete break in quite awhile. Even though I was in CA twice recently and OH just a few weeks ago I kept working throughout all of those trips. But this time there were no house projects staring us down, no work deadlines to complete, and emails that could wait to be answered.

The only thing we had to do was explore + eat our way through DC.

And that we did.

Apricot Strawberry Grilled Crisp | edibleperspective.com #vegan #glutenfree
Apricot Strawberry Grilled Crisp | edibleperspective.com #vegan #glutenfree

But before leaving for our trip I whipped up this lightly sweet, fruity, doughy-topped treat!

Apricot Strawberry Grilled Crisp | edibleperspective.com #vegan #glutenfree
Apricot Strawberry Grilled Crisp | edibleperspective.com #vegan #glutenfree

Up until this recipe I had never tried a raw apricot before, which kind of blows my mind. I have no idea why this is but I had only ever eaten the dried variety. I decided it was finally time to try them out and they’re obviously my new favorite. If you like nectarines and peaches then you will also like fresh apricots. They’re not quite as juicy but the taste is similar.

I paired them with the most fragrant strawberries I’ve eaten this year and topped it all off with an incredibly simple oat crisp topping, which included a surprise ingredient.

Quinoa! We had a bowl of plain quinoa in our fridge that I knew wasn't going to be eaten before leaving for our trip, so into the mixture it went. The quinoa added a lovely crunchiness to the texture that contrasted well with the ripe fruit and soft oat crumble.

Apricot Strawberry Grilled Crisp | edibleperspective.com #vegan #glutenfree
Apricot Strawberry Grilled Crisp | edibleperspective.com #vegan #glutenfree

The best part about this dessert? It takes about 10 minutes to throw together and you can bake it on the GRILL! No need to heat up your whole house. This baby is grill-baked!

Apricot Strawberry Grilled Crisp | edibleperspective.com #vegan #glutenfree
Apricot Strawberry Grilled Crisp | edibleperspective.com #vegan #glutenfree

Print this!

Apricot Strawberry Grilled Crisp

gluten-free, vegan // yields 4-6 servings

for the crumb topping:

  • 3/4 cup gluten-free rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup gluten-free oat flour, divided
  • 1/3 cup cooked quinoa, optional*
  • 1/4 cup muscovado sugar, or coconut sugar, sucanat, brown sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/3 cup unrefined coconut oil, softened not melted

for the fruit filling:

  • 8 ripe apricots, pitted + sliced into 6-8 segments
  • 1 pint strawberries, stemmed + quartered
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons gluten-free oat flour
  • 2 tablespoons muscovado sugar

Preheat your grill [or oven] to 350* F.

Stir oats, flour, quinoa, sugar, and salt together in a mixing bowl until combined. Cut in the softened coconut oil with a pastry blender or fork until the mixture starts to form a crumbly dough and the oil is evenly distributed.

In another bowl combine the fruit and toss with the vanilla extract. Then add in the flour and sugar and toss to coat.

Portion out the fruit mixture into 4 oven-safe baking dishes about 4-inches in diameter, or in an 8x8/9x9 baking pan. [You could also use about 8 ramekins.] Sprinkle the oat mixture over each portion and lightly pat down.

Place dishes on the grill [avoiding hot spots] and bake for about 20-25 minutes until the oat mixture starts turning golden brown. Carefully remove and let cool for about 5-10 minutes.

Serve with a scoop of vanilla Greek frozen yogurt or vanilla bean coconut milk ice cream if desired.

notes: *The quinoa is a fun addition that turns crunchy once baked in the mixture. However, feel free to leave it out. Simply add in 3 more tablespoons of rolled oats instead. This dessert is only lightly sweetened. Add more sugar if desired.

Apricot Strawberry Grilled Crisp | edibleperspective.com #vegan #glutenfree
Apricot Strawberry Grilled Crisp | edibleperspective.com #vegan #glutenfree

The gooey texture and vibrant flavors just about killed me.

Enjoy!

Ashley

Strawberry Vanilla Swirl Greek Frozen Yogurt

While yesterday’s attempt at this strawberry vanilla swirl Greek frozen yogurt was kind of a disaster, today I managed to figure it out! Two easy changes was all it took.

Victory!!!

We are talking real-deal, soft serve froyo, people. And you can basically eat it for breakfast because it’s just barely sweetened and swirled with fruit!

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IMG_1165

Why hello there KitchenAid stand mixer. So nice to finally have you in my kitchen. This is the mixer I won a few weeks ago at The Big Potluck. I am in love with the color [aqua sky].

Also, please take note of our new backsplash! I’m pretty excited about it. The kitchen looks much more finished now. I installed it this past weekend but still need to grout. The house to-do list is never ending, but worth it, I think…

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IMG_1173

This recipe is flecked with thousands of tiny vanilla beans and sweetened with real-deal, raw honey. Which, oh my word, please find yourself some raw honey and spoonit directly into your mouth. It’s been too long since I’ve had this.

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IMG_1217-2

And now for the lovely strawberry swirl, which worked a million times better than adding chopped strawberries. The icy, frozen berries were a teeth killer!

For this part of the recipe you’ll throw a bunch of strawberries in your blender, turn it on, and…that’s it!

Strawberry Vanilla Swirl Greek Froyo | edibleperspective.com
Strawberry Vanilla Swirl Greek Froyo | edibleperspective.com

Quite possibly the easiest dessert recipe to ever exist. Or at least pretty darn close.

And if you are able to resist eating spoon after spoon straight from the ice cream bowl I commend you. I am not that strong.

Strawberry Vanilla Swirl Greek Froyo | edibleperspective.com
Strawberry Vanilla Swirl Greek Froyo | edibleperspective.com

So how exactly does it stay soft and creamy?

Vodka! Just like with my latest coconut milk ice cream recipe.

It lowers the freezing point which helps it to not freeze into a rock solid state. You’ll be able to scoop + enjoy whenever you’d like. But my favorite time to eat it is after about 4 hours in the freezer.

It’s like SILK! Strawberry vanilla silk!

Without the vodka it turns to a brick in the freezer and crumbles when you try and scoop it. Trust me. But if you plan on serving it right from your ice cream machine or after just a few hours in the freezer you can leave the vodka out.

Strawberry Vanilla Swirl Greek Froyo | edibleperspective.com
Strawberry Vanilla Swirl Greek Froyo | edibleperspective.com

Vaaaa-neeee-laaaa beans!!!

Strawberry Vanilla Swirl Greek Froyo | edibleperspective.com
Strawberry Vanilla Swirl Greek Froyo | edibleperspective.com
Strawberry Vanilla Swirl Greek Froyo | edibleperspective.com
Strawberry Vanilla Swirl Greek Froyo | edibleperspective.com

The leftover strawberry puree will be used as a topping, and I also highly recommend throwing on toasted coconut, roasted nuts, or a handful of granola.

I just can’t get over that vibrant red color!

Strawberry Vanilla Swirl Greek Froyo | edibleperspective.com
Strawberry Vanilla Swirl Greek Froyo | edibleperspective.com

And in other non-yogurty news, my parents are coming in TODAY! I am beyond excited to see them. My dad has yet to see our new house, and I haven’t seen him since October. Way, way too long. Luckily my mom popped out here for a visit in February, but I’m going to suffocate them both in hugs. We have some fun things planned, mostly centered around eating [and golf for the boys], but all in all it will be a really low-key visit. I have been looking forward to it for months and busting my buns to get slightly ahead with work so I can take a breather this weekend.

This will be our dessert for night #1 along with another fun treat you’ll be seeing next week!

Strawberry Vanilla Swirl Greek Froyo | edibleperspective.com
Strawberry Vanilla Swirl Greek Froyo | edibleperspective.com

Print this!

Strawberry Vanilla Swirl Greek Frozen Yogurt

gluten-free // yields 4-6 servings

  • 3 1/2 cups whole milk Greek yogurt
  • 1/4 – 1/3+ cup raw honey
  • scant 1/2 teaspoon vanilla beans, from about 2 vanilla bean pods
  • 12 med/large ripe strawberries, de-stemmed
  • 2 tablespoons vodka, gluten-free if needed

*Prep your ice cream bowl [if needed] per manufacturer’s instructions. Mine has to freeze for at least 15hrs.

Place yogurt, honey, and vanilla beans in a blender and blend until fully combined. Taste and blend in more honey if desired. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight. Rinse blender and blend de-stemmed strawberries until fully pureed. Strain the seeds if desired. Pour into a jar and refrigerate.

Stir vodka into chilled yogurt mixture then pour into your ice cream maker and turn on. Churn the ice cream per the manufacturer’s instructions. It’s finished once thick and a bit stiff like soft serve ice cream.

Working quickly, scoop about 1/4 of the mixture into a freezer-safe, airtight container and spread. Then drizzle about 2 tablespoons of the strawberry puree on top and run a butter knife through the puree and yogurt to swirl. Retain about 1/3 cup of the puree to use as a topping. Repeat layering/swirling process 3 more times and spread the top layer evenly. Place a piece of plastic wrap or parchment directly on the surface then seal and freeze for at least 2 hours.

Scoop + serve with remaining strawberry puree on top. Place plastic wrap directly on top of the leftovers and place back in the freezer. Let thaw for 5-10 minutes before serving. [It will harden when frozen overnight.]

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Alt option 1: If you want to serve straight from the ice cream machine simply fold the puree into the frozen yogurt and serve immediately.

Alt option 2: If you don’t care about the swirl effect you can simply stir 2/3 of the puree into the frozen yogurt and spread into your container and freeze. Use the rest as a topping.

Notes: The froyo does freeze solid when frozen for 24 hours but with the vodka the texture is much better when thawed a bit. If you plan to serve all of the froyo within the first 2-3 hours then you can skip it. Follow instructions above minus the vodka and either serve immediately or freeze for up to 3 hours. If you want to store longer and don’t want to use vodka, just a warning it turns rock hard and crumbles when you try to scoop it. You’ll need to let it thaw for at least 15 minutes before being able to scoop and even then it’s messy.

No ice cream maker? Check these tips from David Lebovitz + The Kitchn!

Strawberry Vanilla Swirl Greek Froyo | edibleperspective.com
Strawberry Vanilla Swirl Greek Froyo | edibleperspective.com

And speaking of next week…I’m deeming it National Doughnut Week. Prepare yourselves.

Happy weekend!

Ashley