Pear Crisp With Vanilla Ice Cream

It's a delightful fall dessert!

By Ree DrummondPublished: Aug 21, 2023

3 Ratings

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Caitlin Bensel

This, my darling friends, Romans, and countrymen, is an absolute treat.

I had pears. I wanted to use them for a pear dessert. I originally intended to make some sort of cheesecake with some sort of caramel pear topping. But I've been making a lot of apple desserts and caramel recipes lately—things like caramel apple pecan rolls, apple cake in an iron skillet, etc. And I wanted to change things up.

In addition, I forgot that I'd already gone and eaten all the cream cheese in my house. I HATE it when that happens!

So cheesecake, at that point, would have been a little difficult.

Live and learn.

I wound up making this very simple but very delicious pear crisp. Served warm with vanilla bean ice cream, I had to sit on my hands and look at '80s photos of Linda Evangelista to keep myself from eating the entire pan. And it worked. For an hour, it actually worked.

After that, things started to really fall apart.

What enhances the flavor of pears?

A warm spice like cinnamon does the trick. It's especially fantastic combined with the molasses flavor of the brown sugar. Ginger is also delicious! If there's one rule it's that you absolutely must serve this fall dessert with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. Promise me you will.

Do I have to peel the pears for baking?

It's personal preference, but I like to do it. Bosc pears (what I used here) can have a tough skin, so I find it's best to remove it.

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Yields:: 6 serving(s)
Prep Time:: 15 mins
Cook Time:: 40 mins
Total Time:: 55 mins

Ingredients

For the Filling:

4
to 5 whole large pears (Bosc work well)
2/3 c.
granulated sugar
1/4 tsp.
salt

For the Topping:

1 1/2 c.
all-purpose flour
1/3 c.
granulated sugar
1/3 c.
firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp.
ground cinnamon
1/2 c.
pecans, very finely chopped
1/2 c.
butter, melted

Nutrition Information

Per Serving (Serves 6)

Calories588 Fat22 gSaturated fat10 gTrans fat0 gCholesterol41 mgSodium105 mgCarbohydrates90 gFiber7 gSugar63 gProtein5 gVitamin D0 mcgCalcium44 mgIron2 mgPotassium296 mg

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Directions

1. Step 1Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Step 2For the filling: Peel, core, and dice the pears. Place them into a bowl and stir together with the granulated sugar and salt. Set aside.
3. Step 3For the topping: In a separate bowl, combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans. Stir together. Drizzle the melted butter, gradually, stirring with a fork as you go until all combined.
4. Step 4Pour the pears into a buttered baking dish; top with the crumb topping.
5. Step 5Transfer the baking dish to the middle oven rack and bake for 30 minutes.
6. Step 6Move the dish to the top rack of the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

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Start with 4 to 5 pears, the firmer the better since you don’t want them to fall apart when the crisp bakes.

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Peel the pears using a veggie peeler.

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Cut them in half lengthwise.

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Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and hard core.

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Poifect!

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Put the halves face down, then make several slices.

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Cut them in the other direction to dice them.

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Keep going until all the pears are diced.

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Throw them into a bowl…

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With a nice amount of sugar.

Though any amount of sugar is nice. Evil, mean…and nice.

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Sprinkle in some salt, just to make up for all this sweetness.

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Stir it all together, and try not to scarf this down. It’s extremely inviting.

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And now for the topping, which is the oh, so goooood part. Combine flour, sugar, brown sugar…

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And cinnamon.

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Grab about 1/2 cup pecans.

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And chop them up…

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Then keep chopping…

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Then chop some more. We don’t want any large chunks of pecans—just a really fine chop.

Chop, chop, chop.

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Throw the pecans in with the flour mixture.

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Stir it around to combine…

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Then throw some butter into a bowl and melt it in the microwave.

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Drizzle it over the flour mixture, stirring it with a fork as you go.

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Keep stirring until you wind up with big, moist clumps.

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Now pour the pears into a buttered baking dish.

Buttered, because you’re worth it.

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Now sprinkle the topping over the fruit.

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Ahhh. Lovely and delicious.

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This is looking very promising.

Very, very promising.

And I know these things.

Now, pop it in the oven to bake for a good 30 minutes. After 30 minutes has passed, stick it on the top rack of the oven for an additional 10 minutes, just to get the top nice and golden brown and bubbly.

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Oh, dear. Does this ever smell divine.

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Uh…yeah.

That’s what I’m talking about.

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Vanilla ice cream. Here’s a recipe if you’d like to make your own:

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

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Serve it up warm, baby…

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Yes. I think this’ll do.

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I think this’ll definitely do.

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You won’t believe how delightful this is. Such a nice change of pace from the typical (albeit delicious) apple dessert. And you can add some minced fresh ginger to the pears if you want to step the flavors up a notch. In fact, I’m going to do that right now. I have no self control.

Enjoy this! It’s perfect for the holidays.