An oat crumble topping to go wild for – the crunchy, nutty, cinnamon-spiked crumble topping with oats is the perfect complement to any warm baked filling. You can also make this oat crumb topping healthier (gluten or dairy free) and enjoy it in a variety of ways by mixing and matching with your favorite fruits and sweet veggies.
Step 1. Prepare the ingredients and rub butter into flour first.
Place you butter in the freezer for at least 1 hour before starting. Then, if you’re doing it by hand, use a grater: in a bowl, rub the frozen butter against the smaller grating surface on a box grater. Toss the frozen shreds of butter with flour until all pieces are coated. If you have a food processor: add the cold butter and the flour to the bowl of a food processor and pulse the mixture until you have a chunky / crumb like mixture.
Step 2. Combine all the ingredients and mix:
To the butter and flour mixture, add the spices, sugar, crushed walnuts and rolled oats, mix by hand or with a spatula until combined. Now you could freeze it for future use as it is, or bake the same day on a pie, or separate.
Step 3. Bake the oat crumb topping:
Transfer the mixture to a baking tray or cookie sheet, use your fingers to sprinkle evenly. Bake at 360°F for 17-20 minutes total (if you’re using regular flour) and 8-12 minutes more if you’re using gluten free flour (it usually browns slower).
Step 4. Cool and serve:
Once it’s crisp and golden remove from oven and let it cool. Serve cold or room temperature.See notes for tips.
Notes
For a clustered crumb: bake the whole time without stirring. To make a crispier oat crumb topping that’s more granular and dispersed, remove from oven half the baking time, stir, then return to oven and bake until golden. This is great when you intend to serve it separate as a dessert topping and not incorporated in a pie or cake.
Make It Dairy Free: use a dairy free butter like – Miyoko’s (it has similar texture as regular butter when frozen) and is healthier than Earth Balance brand.
Make It Gluten Free: use gluten free flours like – gluten free oat flour, almond flour, arrowroot flour (similar to potato flour), buckwheat flour, sorghum flour or rice flour. For best results use a mix of a starchy flour and whole grain flour.
Freezing: For longer storage is best to freeze the crumble topping unbaked. Freeze for up to 3 months, in an airtight container or bag. You can top a pie right away while still frozen.
If you already cooked the oat crumb but then you want to top a pie with it, it's best to cover the pan with foil while baking to prevent burning.