Cinnamon Pear Crumble
Now that we’ve fully recovered from Halloween season — it really is a whole season, the events take up the whole month of October — I am buckling down for the holidays. This year I am feeling cozy and in the mood to nest. We’ve been having lots of people over lately and I’ve been focusing on comfort food and seasonal fruit desserts. A recent favorite is this super duper easy pear crumble. It is loaded up with fall spices and tons of delicious fruit. The top is crispy and crumbly and brimming with caramelized fruit juices.
Making this is so simple because it really doesn’t require any major advanced planning. In fact, once you get the basic proportions down you can use whatever ripe fruit is in season. A combination of apples and pears would taste great, as would pears and cranberries, or even pears and rhubarb.
When I made this the other evening I served it with a bubbly chicken Parmesan, crisp green salad, and crispy garlic bread. Everything is warm and homey and perfect for a night in with friends.
Ingredients
- 4 pounds ripe pears (or apples, or similar sized fall fruit)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- For the topping:
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 12 tablespoons cold salted butter, cut into small pieces
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Peel, core, and slice the pears into ½-inch slices. Place the slices in a bowl and add the sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour, and salt. Using clean hands gently toss the fruit to combine the ingredients until everything is evenly coated.
- Carefully transfer the mixture to a 10 or 11-inch deep pie dish, or similar style baking dish.
- Make the topping by combining the flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, and salt and whisking well. Then, work the butter in with your fingertips until the mixture forms small pebbles. Pat the mixture evenly over the fruit filling. It will be thick; this is okay.
- Place the baking dish on a lined sheet pan and bake for about 1 hour, or until the crumble is bubbly on the edges and toasted brown on the top.
