Juicy spiced pears and tart cranberries topped with a brown sugar oatmeal crispy crumble topping – this dessert feels like a big spiced pear hug
*This recipe for Spiced Pear and Cranberry Crisp was developed in partnership with Kerrygold USA. As always, all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the quality brands that make Lion’s Bread possible.
HOW TO MAKE Pear Cranberry CRISP
First, you’re going to start by making the crumble topping – a mixture of brown sugar, white sugar, flour, old fashioned oats, and a few other pantry staples. The sweet, slightly salty oat topping is arguably the best part, but it’s the perfect contrast to juicy, tangy fruit. Wanna really win? Make a double batch of the topping and store half of it in the freezer. That way, whenever the urge to have delicious fruit crisp hits you, you’re halfway there!
Preparing the fruit is super simple. Peel the pears and cut them into large chunks, about 1-inch. Then add a little orange zest and juice, lemon juice, granulated sugar, spices, and a pinch of salt will do. The whole point of any fruit crisp is that saucy, juicy element. After all, you are scooping it into cozy bowls! To thicken the juices just slightly, I add a couple tablespoons of cornstarch.
Add the prepared fruit to a greased baking dish, and the top with the chilled crisp topping.
One last thing: don’t undercook the fruit crisp! The beauty of any fruit crisp is the caramelization and slight crunch that happens when you let the topping getting deeply golden brown. A few of the extra craggy pieces of topping may even get VERY dark brown. That’s fine. Color=caramelization=rich flavor!
Want more fruit recipes? Check out:
Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake
Meyer Lemon Tart with Shortbread Crust
ingredients
How to bake with Pears
That’s easy! Go for pears that are still firm but have a little bit of give under the skin. Some of my favorite varieties to bake with are D’anjou, Bartlette, Red Pears, and Bosc.
It’s really important to peel the pears before you bake them. The skin can get tough in the oven, so compost it! Then slice the pears in half, core them, and cut them in larger 1-inch size chunks. You don’t want o make fruit puree, or “pear-sauce,” so cut larger chunks to ensure that the pears retain their shape and a tiny bit of bite.
Substitutions
Don’t want to use pears? That’s fine, use the same method with apples! Use whatever is in season. Some of my other favorites are nectarines, plums, peaches, blueberries, cherries, strawberries and rhubarb in the spring and summer. This crisp recipe can take you through every season!
You can even use frozen fruit, which brings up a good point. If you have an abundance of great seasonal fruit in the summer, don’t hesitate to freeze some of it for the lean winter months. Just slice up the peaches or cherries, etc and store them in gallon freezer bags.
Get creative with spices here too! You can also add in ginger, cardamom, or allspice to the filling.
I don’t think fruit crisp is a hard sell. But if there’s any remaining doubt, make ANY fruit crisp for your next dinner party, holiday get together or bbq, and just watch how people swarm. It’s so comforting and home-y and my favorite kind of dessert.
Did you make this recipe? Rate and comment below to let me know how it went. Remember to share it on Instagram and tag me @lions.bread so I can see my recipes coming to life in your kitchens! Don’t forget to Pin this, or any recipe from the blog, to your favorite Pinterest boards by clicking on the “Pin It” icon on any of the images.
-LeAnne
Spiced Pear Cranberry Crisp
Juicy spiced pears and tart cranberries topped with a brown sugar oatmeal crispy crumble topping
Ingredients
Pear Cranberry Filling
- 4-5 d’anjou or bartlett pears peeled and cut into 1” chunks
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange zest
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves optional
- pinch of kosher salt
Crisp Topping
- 13 tablespoons Kerrygold unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup unbleached AP flour
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oats, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk to combine.
Add the cold cubed butter, and vanilla extract. Use a pastry cutter or your fingers to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the the mixture gets crumbly, and the flour is fully incorporated. This may take 3-4 minutes.
- Store the mixture in the freezer for about 15 minutes while you prepare the fruit.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the pears into large chunks, and place in a large mixing bowl, along with the cranberries. Add the sugar, lemon juice, orange zest, cornstarch, and kosher salt, mix to combine. Spray a medium size baking dish with nonstick cooking spray (I like coconut oil), and pour the prepared fruit into the dish.
Remove the topping from the freezer, and generously top the fruit with all of the topping, packing it down lightly if necessary.
Bake the fruit crisp for 55-60 minutes until the topping is deeply golden brown, and the fruit juices are bubbling. Allow to cool for about 45 minutes, and serve with vanilla bean ice cream.
Recipe Notes
Make a double batch of the topping and store 1/2 of it in the freezer. That way, the next time you want to bake a crisp, your topping is ready to go! Just crumble it onto your prepared fruit straight from the freezer, and bake!
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