Pear, Apple, Cranberry Crisp

Time: approximately 1 hour 40 minutes; 40 minutes to prepare, 50-60 minutes to bake.

Serves: 10-14

Inspired by: Dinner at Joan and Doug Stone’s house. After a fabulous dinner Joan served this crisp for dessert. It was awesome. Perfect with vanilla ice cream! I had forgotten that crisps and cobblers are some of my favorite desserts. My mom must have made this when I was a kid because I remember loving it way back then. I have made these from time to time without any recipe because having fruit, flour, brown sugar, oats and butter in the kitchen is pretty common, the quantities aren’t too important, and it is tastes awesome even without some of nuances in this recipe. I do, however, really like the flavors that the cranberries and orange zest add. Joan told me her recipe was from a Barefoot Contessa cookbook. I googled it after I got home, found someone elses posting of it, and made it as one of our many desserts for Thanksgiving dinner. I’m finally documenting it so I remember to make these now and then. They work well with all kinds of fruit, but this is my favorite. This may not be exactly what the orginal recipe is as I often modify a bit, but it’s close.

Ingredients for the “bottom”:

• 2 pounds ripe pears (4 pairs)
• 2 pounds apples (5-6 apples)
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 2 tablespoons grated orange zest
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Ingredients for the “topping”:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal (dry oats)
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, diced

Preparation:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Mix the granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl.
• Peel and core the the pears and apples; cut them into 1 inch chunks.
• Place the fruit in a large bowl and toss with the cranberries, zests and juices.
• Add the mixture of  granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg to the fruit and toss well.
• Pour into a 9 x 12 x 2 baking dish – you may have a little bit extra that you can make in a another small baking dish –  be sure to leave enough room to add the topping.
• Next make the topping: combine the flour, sugars, oats and diced cold butter in the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the mixture is in large crumbles.
• Sprinkle the topping evenly over the fruit, covering the fruit completely.
• Place the baking dish on a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the top is brown and the fruit is bubbly. Serve warm.

Notes: I think this must be served with vanilla ice cream! This is super easy to make early in the day  and keep refridgerated until you are ready to bake it that evening.