Blueberry Dessert Pizza

A few weeks ago, for Darrell's birthday, I finally tackled this recipe that I got from Darrell's mom five or so years ago. It wasn't so much that I was intimidated by the steps of the recipe (I can always count on Darrell's mom to give us quality recipes that are quick and easy to prepare), but rather the fact that Darrell had built this recipe up so much that I feared I would never be able to prepare it well enough to live up to his expectations. You see, throughout Darrell's childhood, Darrell's dad always requested this dessert for his birthday. But it's been at least ten years since Darrell has been home for his dad's birthday--and subsequently at least ten years since he has had this dessert. And in ten years, a person's mind can build a recipe up to unattainable levels of deliciousness. I was even more intimidated because I had tried preparing this a few times over the course of the past few years, but every time I suggested it Darrell proclaimed that the "timing wasn't right". It was either the wrong season, or the temperatures were too high, or the mood wasn't right. Not to mention the fact that I had never had this particular recipe, so as I was preparing it I wasn't quite sure if it was looking right or being cooked to the correct level of done-ness. So, as you can imagine, I felt quite a bit of pressure going into the actual preparation of this dessert.

But you know what? It was all for naught. Darrell came home from work that day, took one look at the dessert, and proclaimed that it looked just like it did when his mom fixed it--and tasted just as good, too. I should have known that his mom's recipe would be fool-proof.

Blueberry Dessert Pizza
(from Momma Shirley!)

1 pkg yellow cake mix
1 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats (not instant)
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts; pecans would probably work just as well)
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 21 oz can blueberry pie filling

Preheat oven to 350*. Grease a 12-inch pizza pan or 9x13 pan. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, 1 cup of oats, and 6 tbsp margarine. Mix at low speed until crumbly. Remove 1 cup of crumbs to use for topping. To remaining crumbs, blend in the egg. Press in prepared pan and bake for 12 minutes. To reserved crumbs, add the remaining 2 tbsp margarine, 1/4 cup oats, nuts, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Beat until well blended. Spread the pie filling on the cooked crust. Sprinkle with crumb topping. Bake an additional 15-20 minutes or until crumbs are a light golden brown. Cool completely and serve with whipped topping.

For the record, the whipped topping is non-negotiable. I had the idea to make a powdered sugar glaze to drizzle across the pizza (like you see at a lot of restaurants), but was promptly informed by Darrell that such a revision was not allowed (something about the coolness and softness of the whipped topping pairing perfectly with the oat crust). However, I will be so bold as to say that I imagine this recipe would work just as well with any type of pie filling--or topped with a few fresh strawberries and/or raspberries to make it the perfect 4th of July dessert. Just don't tell Darrell.