Fresh Pear Crisp

Topping:

6 Tablespoons unbleached flour

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or use 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg)

1/4 teaspoon salt

5 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" pieces

1/2 cup regular oats (or you can add 3/4 cup coarsely chopped nuts, such as almonds, pecans, or walnuts)

Filling

6 medium pears (2 1/2 to 3 lbs) I didn't have enough to make the weight so I added to small green apples to the mix and it worked great!

1 1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup granulated sugar

For the Topping: mix all ingredients, but the nuts in a food processor until resembles a course cornmeal, then add the nuts. Refrigerate for 15 minutes while you prepare the fruit.

Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees.

For the feeling: peel, quartered , and cut the pears into 1-inch chunks. (You should have 6 cups). Toss with lemon juice and sugar in a medium bowl. Scrape the fruit mixture with a rubber spatula into a 8-inch square baking dish or a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Distribute the chilled topping evenly over the fruit. Bake for 40 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees and continue baking until the fruit is bubbling and the tipping turns deep golden brown, about 5 minutes more. Serve warm. (The Crisp can be set aside at room temperature for a few hours and then reheated in a warm oven just before serving.)

I also tried a Peach-Raspberry version of this crisp. Follow the recipe for the Pear Crisp above, replacing it with 6 peaches (about 3 lbs), peel, pit, and cut into 1/3-inch wedges.

**This one was runny where the pear one was not. It was tart, yet still delicious.