Pear Crisp with Maple Pecan Crumble

This, my darling friends, is an absolute treat. Start with 4 to 5 pears, the firmer the better since you don’t want them to fall apart when the crisp bakes. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and hard core.

Put the halves face down, then make several slices.

Throw them into a bowl…With a nice amount of sugar. Though any amount of sugar is nice. Evil, mean…and nice. Stir it all together, and try not to scarf this down. It’s extremely inviting. Now, pop it in the oven to bake for a good 30 minutes. After 30 minutes has passed, stick it on the top rack of the oven for an additional 10 minutes, just to get the top nice and golden brown and bubbly.

Recipe below..This looks promising. Very, very promising.  And I know these things.

Pear Crisp with Maple Pecan Crumble
Serves six to eight 

Ingredients

6 c. Anjou or Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, and cut lengthwise into ½-inch-thick slices
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/3 c. granulated sugar
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. cinnamon
2/3 c. flour
½ c. old-fashioned oats
½ c. pure maple sugar (or brown sugar)
1/3 c. toasted, chopped pecans
¼ tsp. salt
1/3 c. unsalted butter, cold, cut into ¼-inch cubes
Cream or vanilla ice cream for serving

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Drizzle lemon juice over sliced pears.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine granulated sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon. Sprinkle over pears and toss to coat.

4. For the topping, combine flour, oats, maple sugar, pecans, and salt, using a whisk to mix thoroughly. Then add cubes of butter individually, using your fingers to pinch and mix each cube with the dry ingredients until a crumble forms.

5. Put pear slices in a greased 8-by-8-inch baking dish or a large, deep pie plate. Sprinkle crumble topping over pears.

6. Bake 45-55 minutes or until pears are bubbly and soft and the topping browns.

7. Serve warm with cream drizzled on top or with vanilla ice cream.

You won’t believe how delightful this is. Such a nice change of pace from the typical (albeit delicious) apple dessert. And you can add some minced fresh ginger to the pears if you want to step the flavors up a notch.

In fact, I’m going to do that right now. I have no self control.

Enjoy this! It’s perfect for the holidays.