raspberry rhubarb crisp {with easy homemade vanilla ice cream!}

We had some friends over this weekend to grill out and let our dogs play together, as they just got a Goldendoodle puppy a couple of months ago and Maddie has been dying to play with him.  While sitting on the patio enjoying a couple of beers before dinner, it started sprinkling and we kept saying "Oh I think it's going to pass!" and "I see a clearing in the sky right there...we don't have to head inside!"  (typical optimistic Minnesotans) but the sprinkles turned into a steady rain and we were forced inside for dinner.   We kept the dogs outside in the rain since they were beyond muddy and while we were keeping a pretty good eye on them, checking them every 10 minutes or so, while we were finishing up dessert Marc looked out the front window and saw Maddie and Norman the puppy making a run for it through our front yard down the sidewalk.  Somehow our gate had blown open and the dogs thought this was their chance at freedom.  It definitely gave us all a scare, not knowing how easily they would come back inside (Maddie is somewhat stubborn...like her mom) but it actually ended up being pretty funny since the dogs came back right away.

Needless to say, the dogs were let back inside after that (and a good scrubbing).  It's also good we were done eating dessert because I'm not sure I would've wanted to leave my plate of raspberry rhubarb crisp, even for Maddie.  Okay okay, I would have but it would've been tough.  This crisp is delicious!  Oh and I know - two rhubarb recipes in a row?!  Hopefully it's not rhubarb overkill and you all love rhubarb just as much as I do because this recipe is a real treat.

I've seen countless rhubarb and strawberry recipes, but hardly any rhubarb and raspberry recipes and thought I'd give it a try.  I'm so glad I did because I absolutely loved the combination of the two.  The fruit filling couldn't be easier - simply combining the raspberry and rhubarb with some sugar, vanilla, a pinch of cinnamon and cornstarch and dumping it into a baking dish.  Topped with a buttery crisp topping, what could be better?

Oh and about crisp toppings - I typically loath making them.   For some reason I find the act of cutting cold butter into the flour, oats, and sugar tedious and somewhat of a nuisance.  Lucky for me (and you!) this recipe calls for melting the butter before combining it with the dry ingredients, and there is no cutting of the butter required.  Hallelujah!  It's the little things in life, folks.

And finally, we get to the vanilla ice cream.  You simply cannot have a fruit crisp without ice cream in my house.  It's not allowed.  Somehow I had forgotten to pick up a carton of ice cream that afternoon at the store, so I decided to whip up a batch of my own.  I based it off a recipe from Cuisinart, but completely changed it according to what I had in my fridge - less cream and only skim milk.  Also, this recipe doesn't require any stovetop work like some ice cream recipes do and so it comes together super fast and is really easy.  And most importantly, it turned out delicious!

Hopefully you were smart and picked up some rhubarb at the market this weekend, because you're gonna want to make this before rhubarb season is over.   I actually went back to the farmers market today to pick up more so I could freeze it and enjoy this crisp all summer long.  It's that good!

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