Pear Crisp Recipe

This pear crisp recipe is sweet, with the warm flavor of cinnamon, with a crispy crumb topping.

This recipe works with many different fruits, but in early fall, I love using the pears that have been ripening in our store room. You may not know it, but most pears are harvested while still green and hard, and then ripen after they’ve fallen – or in this case, been brought into storage.

We have a number of kieffer pear trees in our orchard, and those pears are almost rock hard when they fall from the tree, and take a while to soften and sweeten.

Anyway, back to our pear crisp recipe.

Ingredients for making easy pear crisp

If you’ve made a fruit crips before, most of these ingredients will be familiar to you. While there are a lot of variations to crisp recipes, this is my favorite, because it manages to be both crisp, and soft, and bring out the fruity flavors perfectly. In my opinion, this is easily one of the best pear desserts.

• Pears – fresh, rip pears, or canned, drained pears can be used. I usually use Kieffer pears, because we have so many. Most pears will work well though, with the most common being Bartlett pears (which is what you see in these pictures, despite what I just said about using Kieffer) or Anjou. 
• Cinnamon – this spice pairs perfectly with pears, and creates a warm, fall flavor.
• Lemon juice – since pears are so mild, a little bit of lemon juice helps add a nice tang, and brings out the natural flavors.
• Vanilla – complements the sweetness of pears.
• White sugar – it wouldn’t be a desert without sweetness. And don’t forget that sugar acts as a liquid in baking, preserving moisture in your dessert.
• Brown sugar – more flavorful and robust than white sugar, and otherwise serves the same purpose.
• Oatmeal – I like to use quick oats to lean into the crisp texture, some people like to use old-fashioned oats to add some chewiness.
• Flour – This helps hold everything together, and even out the texture.
• Salt – Helps balance out the sweetness.
• Butter – essential for creating a crisp result, rather than soggy that you would get from using a liquid.
• Pecans. Technically optional, but adds a rich, nutty flavor, and nice variance in texture.

Ingredients substitutes and variations

I’m adding this section because this is one of those baking recipes where the variations are actually endless.

• Fruit substitutions. You can use apples, peaches, or a combination in place of the pears. Just be aware that the high water content in pears will yield a slightly different result than the relatively drier apples, and be aware of what spices, or flavor additives will pair best with your fruits.
• Spice substitutions. This recipes calls solely for cinnamon. Others that would complement pears well are nutmeg and cloves, or ginger. You will want to add these in much smaller amounts, such as 1/4 teaspoon of each. But if you like those flavors, feel free to add them.
• Sugar. The only sugar substitute that I’ve found that works very well is the relatively obscure Whey Low. Most of the time, this acts very similarly to traditional sugar. Most other sugars that contain the bulk of white and brown sugar, don’t contain the moisture, and result in a much drier crust.
• Oatmeal. Replacing this is a little bit dicey. You can technically make a crisp with all flour, but this recipe is formulated for using oatmeal, so I don’t recommend it, without knowing what adjustments you need to make.
• Flour. The standard flour to use is white, all purpose flour. You can also use gluten-free flour. I have a number of specifically gluten-free fruit crisp recipes on this site, and I’ll reiterate here what I say in them: don’t use a flour mix that contains starch. Cornstarch, or any other starch, will turn your crisp gooey. My preferred flours for making a crisp are a combination of brown rice and sweet white sorghum flour. They balance each other out nicely. You can use them in the same amounts as all purpose white flour.
• Butter. To make this dairy-free or vegan, you can substitute Earth Balance, Country Crock, or Smart Balance butter substitutes.
• Nuts. I adore pecans in most cases, but you can also use walnuts or sliced or slivered (not whole) almonds.

How to make pear crisp

1. Preheat oven to 350º
2. If using fresh pears, core, and dice into 1 inch pieces. You can peel them in needed, but most pears have a nice, soft skin, so I skip this. If using canned pears, drain them well, but cut into 1 inch chunks.
   
   
3. Place sliced pears into a prepared baking dish, and toss with cinnamon, 2 tablespoons of sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla, and set aside.
   
   
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine white sugar, brown sugar, oatmeal, flour and softened butter. This is a thick mixture that will be difficult to mix. I usually start with a fork, and end up using my hands. Of course, you can use your Kitchen Aid, or Bosc mixer. Not sure why I never think about that.
   
   
5. Toss in pecans, and sprinkle over pears.
   
   
6. Bake in the center of the preheated oven for about 35 minutes until the crisp topping has turned golden brown.
7. Remove from oven and let cool to a reasonable temperature before serving.

Serving suggestions

This is perfect served with big scoop of vanilla ice cream, and can be served with whipped cream, or heavy cream as well.

We also like is by itself as well.

More recipes for you

• Gluten free blueberry crisp
• Pumpkin Dump Cake
• Gluten Free Blackberry Crisp
• Gluten-Free Rhubarb Crisp
• Gluten-Free Apple Crisp Recipe
• Easy Cherry Crumble Recipe

 

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