Genius Strawberry Lace-Cookie Crisp
Jun 14, 2018, Updated Apr 15, 2025
These individual crisps are bursting with strawberries and an almond lace cookie top. Totally crunchy! If I do say so myself – these crisps are genius… not loaded with sugar with a top layer that cracks – like Crème Brûlée!
What a wonderful little dessert using in-season fruit… not-too-sweet, easy to prepare and gluten-free
Strawberries are baked first, then, before eating, lace cookies are baked and draped on top. This forms
an unbelievable crispy and flavorful shell. Easy, gluten-free with much less calories than your average dessert.
Look for strawberries at you local Farmers’ Market in season ~ consider visiting a U -Pick farm, and take home these red jewels for snacking and recipes.
The finest strawberries I’ve had have been recently picked locally.
They are red through and through (no white interiors.)
Last week I visited my local Farmers’ Market
To see what Spring produce has been picked. Strawberries were looking luscious, and after one taste, I knew I would take home a quart of them… and whip up something. Gazy Brothers Farm in Oxford, CT never disappoints me with glorious fruits and vegetables, they have 25 planting acres.
I’ve made so many interesting crisps, cobblers, buckles and pies in the past, now I was looking for a new approach, eyeing these beautiful crimson berries with their stems attached, piled up in their aqua, molded pulp basket.
Creation of This Recipe:
Using my vintage 5″ glass Pyrex individual glass bakers (you can use metal ones or large ramekins) I had an idea – bake the strawberries first solo, instead of adding a topping. Next, I thought of topping with some sort of cookie… would it be soft to crispy? Thick or thin? Crumbled or flat?
So I tested large cut pieces of strawberries, mixed with orange juice & rind, arrowroot starch for thickening and only 1T. of pure cane sugar per crisp. I spooned this into the individual pans and baked them on a rimmed baking pan. After 12 minutes, they were bubbling, thickened, without the strawberries being too soft.
Next, I made the almond lace cookies. Spacing them far apart anticipating spreading – 1T. of dough was enough to make 5″ circled cookie. After 1 minute out of the oven, they were cool enough, I picked them up with a spatula – and draped each one over the strawberries. Pretty quickly they hardened.
I noticed that cookies stayed crispy for about 2 hours, and then started to moisten.
So – after the cookies are baked and are covering the berries – they should be eaten in 2 hours.
Have fun making these crisps, devour these just-sweet-enough dessert, bursting with flavor.
Enjoy!
Karen
Genius Strawberry Lace-Cookie Crisp
Equipment
- 4 5" tart pans (or ramekins 1 cup capacity)
Ingredients
Strawberry Filling:
- 4 cups strawberries, hulled, washed & dried – small ones cut in half, large ones in quarters
- 8 teaspoons fresh orange juice
- ½ teaspoon orange rind, finely grated
- 4 tablespoons pure cane sugar
- 4 teaspoons arrowroot powder*, see below
Almond Lace Cookies:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, I use organic
- 2 tablespoons slivered almonds, chopped medium-fine
- ¼ cup coconut palm sugar
- 2 tablespoons Lyle’s Golden Syrup** or brown rice syrup
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 pinches sea salt
- 2 tablespoons gluten free all purpose flour, can use regular flour
- 2 tablespoons rolled oats
- ⅛ teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
Overview:
- Cook strawberries in individual tart pans first. Make lace cookies, bake them, and top strawberries for a top crust. Serve within 2 hours, or prepare each ahead of time and assemble prior to eating.
Genius Strawberry Lace-Cookie Crisps:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, toss all Strawberry Filling ingredient together. Portion the filling evenly into 4 individual 5″ pie pans (can use ramekins with a 1 cup capacity.) I’ve used vintage Pyrex fluted glass pie pans (see photo.)
- Place on a rimmed baking pan and bake for 12 minutes until bubbly. Remove and set aside.
Make Almond Lace Cookies:
- (These are fun and easy to prepare) Place the first 6 ingredients in a small pot (butter through sea salt.) Gently bring to a simmer, cook stirring with a wooden spoon, until melted and slightly thickened, one minute. Remove from heat, add flour, oats and almond extract – stir all together.
To Bake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large cookie sheet with a silpat liner or parchment paper. Scoop 1 tablespoon of dough for each cookie, 4 T. total. I roll each tablespoon in the palm of my hands making a perfect ball. Place the 4 balls on the sheet pan, evenly spaced. They will each spread to 5" in diameter. Bake until well spread and golden in color, about 8 minutes. Do not let get golden around the edges; that indicates overcooking. (Enough dough for 3 – 4 extra cookies leftover.)
- Remove from oven, let cool 1 minute. Remove cookies from the pan with a metal spatula – they will be warm and firm, yet pliable.Place each cookie over the strawberries. You can crumple the cookies slightly like I did in the photo. Will harden as it cools. Serve within 2 hours for a crispy topping (will loose its crispness after.)
Serving:
- Add a dollop of whipped coconut creme (or standard whipped cream) and a little strawberry on top.
Whipped Coconut Creme:
- Refrigerate a can of coconut milk (such as Thai Kitchen) for a least 24 hours. Open up can and scoop out the thickened coconut cream and place in a bowl to whip. (Chill the bowl and beater for great results). Save the coconut milk, which will look watery for another use (such as rice.) Add 1 to 2 T. of sweetener – Honey or Raw Coconut Nectar or Confectioner's Sugar to the bowl and whip on high speed until thickened.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
