It’s another unnervingly sunny autumn day here at the homestead, and despite the unusually warm temperatures the trees are have shifted to a lovely palette of rich reds, golds, and olive greens. It is pretty cool in the nights and mornings, though, so my seasonal craving for fruits stewed in cinnamon and spices has arrived in full-force. As such, I put together this wickedly delicious pear crisp. The fruit part is simple, just bits of fresh pears tossed with honey and spices, but the crumb topping is where things get a little more interesting.
Almond and Coconut Crumb Topping, You Say?
Yes, and in a multitude of ways. There’s almond meal, sliced almonds, and almond butter in the crisp mixture, along with shredded coconut, coconut oil, tons of spices, some sugar, and loads of comforting oats. And also a bit of salt, because I worship at the altar of the salty-sweet combo. It bakes up into a delicately crisp topping that still crumbles apart easily, making for easy serving. The nut butter adds next-level richness to the dish, I’ve started incorporating it in all my crumb toppings for my bakes and it really takes things to a whole new level. It makes the crumb topping melt in your mouth from your body heat, which is a truly wonderful sensation.
What Kinds of Pears to Use in this Pear Crisp
Honestly, you can use any pear variety in this crisp, big or small, red or yellow or green. The MOST important thing, though, is that they’re ripe. A ripe pear has peak juiciness and flavor, and will add much more nuance to the crisp than a rock hard pear. If you have very hard pears from the store, just put them in a paper bag at room temperature and check them once in the morning and once at night. When they’re ripe, they should have just a little bit of give and tenderness when you squeeze them gently. If you can’t bake them at the exact moment of ripeness, put them in the refrigerator at that point to extend the shelf life for several days. Otherwise if you leave them at room temperature they might get a touch overripe and develop bruises. If that happens, though, you can just cut off any brown spots, so long as the fruit doesn’t have any mold or gnats or smell strange. Basically, use common sense.
And if you have leftover pears, may I suggest making something savory with them like this bacon, blue cheese, pear, and caramelized onion pasta. Or perhaps this pear, goat cheese, and caramelized onion pizza. I hope you enjoy this little bit of autumn in your inbox, and that it helps encourage you to slow down and take a moment and savor the season. This is my favorite time of year, mainly because of the coziness and slower pace of things. Enjoy it, my friend.
Pear Crisp with Almonds and Coconut
This easy pear crisp takes an hour from start to finish and is full of delicious roasted almonds, toasted coconut, and crispy oats.
Ingredients
Pear and Cinnamon Filling
- 2 ½ pounds pears peeled, cored, and chopped into ½-inch cubes
- 3 tablespoons honey warm
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Almond and Coconut Crumb Topping
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- ½ cup oat flour (can be made by blending oats in blender at high speed)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup roasted almond butter or peanut butter
- ¼ cup flour or Gluten Free 1-to-1 baking flour
- 1/4 cup shredded coconut
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds
- 6 tablespoons coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a roughly 8 x 13-inch oval baking dish or similar and set it aside.
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For the filling, toss together the ingredients in a medium bowl and empty them into the baking dish, moving them around with a spoon until evenly distributed across the bottom of the pan.
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For the crumb topping, toss together all the ingredients in a medium bowl. If needed, use your hands to break apart any nut butter clumps until there is a crumbly even consistency throughout the topping.
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Sprinkle the crumb topping in an even layer over the pear filling. Place the pan in the oven and bake until the crumb is golden and there is juice bubbling around the edges, about 30 to 35 minutes. Remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
