A Rosy Note

Very Cherry…and an Almond Oatmeal Crust

by

Happy Thursday to you!  Just thought I’d pop in for a quick hello. 
 
Last weekend was pretty wonderful here…warm weather, time with my family and, of course, food. We had a get together at my parents’ house on Monday. Our gatherings always involve something to nibble on and, while we all tend to really watch what we eat, we did decide to make an exception that day, splurge and have dessert.
Our minds were all aflutter with possibilities. “Oh, what should we have?” we wondered. My sister eventually came up with the idea of ice cream with a smorgasbord of toppings. Yes, it’s true…we went crazy with the idea. There were to be no half-hearted treats here. It was a feast for the eyes, as well as the taste buds….strawberries, pineapple, chocolate, caramel, crushed cookies…the list went on and on.
 
I very rarely buy ice cream, not to mention all the goodies that go on top, so needless to say, my children were thrilled!
Although I’ve been vowing to stop, I spent a lot of time baking last week…trying to come up with a simple, yet delicious sweet crust.  Why I do this to myself? I don’t know.
 
While one would normally think of eating ice cream in a bowl or a cone, I figured that a crust would be a good base for our dessert, and that way I could test my recipe on everyone too! Excellent plan, don’t you think? My first attempts at playing crust creator resulted in something that was a bit too crunchy, to say the least, but I finally got it to where I want it…a nice and chewy oatmeal crust with a hint of almond.
 
While I do admit to having a sweet tooth, I also really love fruit. As I was preparing my dessert and getting ready for the all-important taste test, I thought about the bag of cherries that I had just bought. Ripe and red, I figured they’d look and taste pretty good with that oatmeal crust and a bit of chocolate. Ummm, yes…it was very good.  A little too much so, since I had another “taste test” later that day!

 

Almond Oatmeal Crust

Makes four 4″ tart crusts.

  • 1 3/4 generous cup quick oats 
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup almond meal/flour
  • 1/4 cup oat flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 3/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 tablespoon honey
In a medium-size bowl, combine the quick oats, brown sugar, almond meal, oat flour, cinnamon and salt. Set aside. In a separate container, melt the butter and then add the almond extract and the honey. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir well.
 
Divide the mixture among four mini tart pans with removable bottoms, being sure to press the raw crust into the sides and bottom of the pan. Place the tart tins on a cookie sheet and bake at 325 degrees for approximately 13-15 minutes. Do not overbake or the crust may get too hard. Let the crust cool and then remove it from the pans.
 
Top it with whatever your little heart desires…or just eat it like a big cookie. Yes, it’s very good that way too!
Well, lovely people, that’s all I have for today.  Hope you have a great weekend!
 
xo
 
 
 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  4. Marge says

    Oh, so many wonderful, really lovely summer posts had coming here!!:)
    I love them♥

    Have a wonderful time,
    Marge from Finland

  5. elizabeth says

    Up late waiting for youngest daughter's delayed flight home, so I'm here drooling over your lovely photos and pinning this recipe!

  11. traci says

    this sounds yummy and your photography is devine. i could reach right through the monitor and eat it up. beautifully done.

  13. Urban Farmgirl says

    Like always, your photography rocks my socks off! And this looks yummy! I pinned it so it can pop up on my table later this summer! Thanks for sharing! ;o)

    Mary

  14. lisa. says

    Oh my goodness Tricia, I would have been right "at home" with you last weekend!!!
    I LOVE ice cream, and the crusts you made look and sound wonderful. Thank you for sharing your recipe. If I've told you this before, sorry, but it bears repeating…your food photographs are the very best. I love the way you style everything.
    Sending you wishes for a beautiful day!
    xo.

  15. Sylvia says

    It's always a delight visiting your beautiful place in the " blogosphere". Your photos are amazing and the crust you made looks delicious and VERY tempting …with ice cream and cherries …Oh!

  18. hootnonny says

    The crust looks divine and an ice cream toppings bar sounds decadent! Never thought of eating ice cream in a crust, unless a pie I had at the home of my husband's boss counts. It was a chocolate graham cracker crust, coffee ice cream, topped with thick chocolate.

    His wife was a home ec teacher. They lived in a modern house (40 years ago) with huge windows and the drapes (she made, of course) were white eyelet and instead of pulling the drapes, she pulled the sheers. I loved those and the ice cream pie. Sorry – your ice cream took me back to Tallahassee and I took you with me!

    And as always, your vignettes are wonderful! Have a great day!

  27. Ellie says

    Sounds and looks so tasty. I'm really trying to watch what I am eating at the moment but sometimes you just have to have a wee treat don't you.
    Your oatmeal crusts look really nice.
    Wonderful pictures – as usual :))

  32. kelly says

    Beautiful photos, Tricia. I love the crusts and the reds look fabulous. Just to let you know that the new photo came on my home page, but when I go into your Facebook page I can't see the photos there. It might be just me, but I thought I would let you know.

    Kelly.

  36. Blooming Rose Musings says

    Tricia, I made your blueberry cobbler and it was delicious! We all thanked you as we gobbled it down. Now you have a new recipe that sounds delicious too. Hmm, I love sweets so this might be dangerous!
    I also want to tell you how beautiful the photos are of your daughter in the previous post. I love that she is in love with nature. All your photos in all your posts are fantastic.
    I hope you have a wonderful weekend. XO

  37. jacqueline says

    Dearest sweet Tricia, it's soooo good to be back here visiting and catching up! I love cherries lots and your settings in these photos are just so inspiring and beautiful. They make me smile.

    I've been feeling under the weather and it wouldn't allow me to do much of a blogging, blog visiting and crafting. I am hoping to get back in the swing of things soon because i just miss you and everyone on blogland so so much!

    Have a lovely merry happy friday and love to you!

  41. Valerie@chateaualamode.typepad.com says

    Hello my sweet blogging friend. LOVE your photos as usual. You are very clever making crust for ice cream. I just might have to give it a try 🙂 I love me some ice cream. Unlike you I rarely don't have ice cream in the house…HA! Happy weekend.

  43. Lara says

    You added the cherry pits in your comp – I like that!! 🙂 Is this with your new lens? So bright and beautiful! I never buy ice cream either, but I am wanting to try the new Ben & Jerry's Greek Yogurt icecream with fudge chunks – sounds so good. I can only eat ice cream with chunks. Your homemade crust looks divine!

  44. Candylei says

    ohhh, it sounds delicious. Isn't baking with fresh ingredients in the summer fun and tasty? Beautiful styling on your photographs. I have much to learn.

  48. Katherines Corner says

    Oh my word, lovely photos and delish recipe with almond oatmeal crust! Yes please I'll have a slice please.Hugs and wishes for a beautiful week ahead xo

  51. Cheryl says

    such a great post. the photo's are really beautiful and your pages are so clean looking.
    I'm just getting started and this is a very pleasing site to start with..
    Thanks for the recipe also…looks yummy.
    BTW I'm an ice cream freak so that sounded good to me.

  52. Kia says

    Beyond beautiful, and so yummy too.
    I can see a gorgeous recipe book in your future. 🙂
    Have a lovely rest of the week!

  53. Cindy says

    I just love your blog! Everytime I come here, I am delighted!
    Beautiful photos, yummy recipes…pure joy!

  54. Sandy says

    At first when I saw the recipe for the tart crust I was thinking ohhh 6 Tbls butter, but then saw that it made 4 servings, so that's not really too bad. 1 TBLS and and half for each one, unless of course I can't add correctly. But they sure do look good, besides who's counting butter fat?! I very rarely buy ice cream too because I can't find any that really tastes like the good old fashioned stuff we had as kids. But I will buy it occasionally. And fruit, I'm crazy for fruit too and buy tons of it.

    Gorgeous pictures as usual Tricia, although they are a bit different in a good way! Love that table runner! That first and second and so on…photo's are exquisite!!! cherries, daisies and milk go together very well! ♥

    Sorry i haven't been around. lots going on and I wish it would settle down here for awhile lol I hope to post soon!

  56. Sandy says

    oh, darn it, I also wanted to say, not only are you an excellent photographer, but I love the way you write too. you have a cute flair with words and I loved your expression "the crust creator" LOL!

  59. Svenja says

    amazing pictures as always tricia… please publish a book!! your blog is one of my absolutely favorites!!
    hugs, svenja

  60. LeeAnn@Encouragement Is Contagious says

    Beautiful photos Tricia and thank you for that oatmeal crust recipe. It looks scrumptious too. I've missed talking to you via our blogs. I've been slower these days getting posts put up. I sure hope you are having a wonderful summer.

    ♥Lee Ann

  61. Cindy Garber Iverson says

    The crust sounds delightful especially since it has a hint of almond in it. I am in love with your cherry photos! I've been craving cherries lately and now your post has heightened that craving. I hope I can find some good organic ones soon. 🙂

    Cindy at Rosehaven Cottage