Beat the summer heat with this refreshing — and very easy to make — berry crisp recipe

I’ve always had a complicated relationship with summer. Half of it was frustration with bathing suit shopping and the oppressive heat and humidity. The other half was the joy of no school, rooftop restaurants and bars, and of course, summer produce!

For the sake of this column, we’ll focus on positives of summer, which include this easy berry crisp recipe. Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and a simple oatmeal crumb topping make this an easy dessert dish to bring to a neighborhood barbecue, or share with your family and friends.

I also love this berry crisp because it’s a recipe that helped me gain more confidence in my kitchen when I was first learning how to bake. The few ingredients and measurements make it easy to follow the directions (hello, fellow friends who are bad at math) and also make your kitchen smell incredible.

The two downsides? Your hands will likely get stained from the berries and you’ll want to make this so much that the cashier at your local grocery store will start giving you strange looks from all the berries in your shopping cart.

Somehow, it’s worth it.