Oats and nuts add the crunch in this simple recipe for Blueberry Crunch. Try this served warm and topped with real whipped cream or ice cream. Yum-O!

Crisps, cobblers, and crunches may sound funny, but these luscious fruit desserts are comfort-food favorites. They're down-home desserts from a slower-paced era, when baking was done on a daily basis and dessert was always a finish to every meal.

This style of dessert is perfect for every beginner baker. The essence is the same for most of them: fresh fruit on the bottom and a sweet dough or crumbly topping on top. Messing them up is next to impossible because they were born of being "tossed together."

Blueberry Crunch

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Baking time: 30 minutes

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

3 cups rinsed, fresh blueberries or 1 package (16 ounces) frozen (not packed in syrup)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2/3 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/3 cup butter, softened and cut into 6 pieces

1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Pour the blueberries in the bottom of an 8-inch square baking pan. Toss the berries with the lemon juice.

3. In a small bowl or in the bowl of a food processor, combine the brown sugar, flour, oats, butter, walnuts, cinnamon, almond or vanilla extract, and salt. Then mix just to combine or pulse 5 times in the food processor. Sprinkle the mixture over the blueberries.

4. Bake until the topping is light brown and the blueberries are bubbly, about 30 minutes. Serve warm.