Fresh Pear & Walnut Crisp

With tender fresh pears topped with an oats, brown sugar, and walnut crumb topping, Fresh Pear & Walnut Crisp makes for one delicious comfort food dessert. Enjoy it warm or chilled, with or without a scoop of vanilla ice cream or dollop of whipped cream -- any way you take it, it's delicious!

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In my opinion, pears don't get enough dessert love. Tender, sweet, and full of flavor, they're the unsung heroes of late summer and early fall desserts.

And one of our favorite ways to show pears some dessert love? -- This Fresh Pear & Walnut Crisp. Just like apples in apple crisp, sliced pears bake up into bites of soft and sweet fruity deliciousness. Top those baked beauties with a brown sugar, oats, and cinnamon crumb topping, and you've got yourself one very tasty comfort food dessert.

Now, this pear crisp dessert holds a very special place in my heart for two reasons. 

First, I often make it with pears from my mother-in-law's farm. She has a few pear trees in the small "orchard" in her yard. -- And when we're lucky enough to beat the squirrels to them, those fresh-picked pears are quickly turned into a fresh-baked pan of Pear & Walnut Crisp. This tasty dessert is truly one of our faves.

Second, Fresh Pear & Walnut Crisp is also the dessert I served the night my parents and my husband (then boyfriend, at the time) met for the first time -- way back in February, 2003.

We had been dating for about five weeks when these all-important introductions were made. The introductions evening apparently went well, because just four months later, Mark and I were engaged. -- And Mom, Dad, and hubby Mark got along fabulously right from the start.

Now, that night's Pear Crisp was made with store-bought pears. But I'm happy to say, store-bought pears work just as wonderfully as the home-grown ones! (And bonus -- you don't have to fight the squirrels for them.)

With tender fresh pears topped with an oats, brown sugar, and walnut crumb topping, Fresh Pear & Walnut Crisp makes for one delicious comfort food dessert.

What's to Love About This Recipe?

• Easy to make - Simply mix sliced pears with cornstarch and sugar, top with crumb topping, and bake. That's all it takes to whip up this delicious comfort food dessert!
• Pears! - Fresh pears shine in this easy and delicious dish, giving this oft-neglected fruit some much-deserved dessert love.
• Fabulous flavor - The combination of tender baked pears and the accompanying brown sugar-and-oats based topping delivers up fabulous flavor in every bite.
• Enjoy warm or chilled - Enjoy this tasty dessert straight from the oven, at room temperature, or chilled. No matter how you take it, it's delicious!

Fresh Pear & Walnut Crisp Ingredients:

Fresh Pear & Walnut Crisp comes together with pretty simple, humble ingredients. With pears and some baking basics you probably have in your pantry, you can have a pan of this dessert done in no-time.

For the pear filling, you'll need:

• Fresh pears - The star of the show. About 3 pounds of pears are needed for this dessert. I generally use Bartlett pears, which are a variety easily found in grocery stores.

• Lemon juice - An acidic element that heightens the flavor of the pears, as well as helps prevent the cut pear slices from turning color. While either fresh or bottled lemon juice can be used, I recommend using fresh for the best flavor result.

• Granulated sugar - Sweetens the pears, and helps release some juice from the sliced pears to create a bit of "sauciness" in the crisp's pear filling.

• Cornstarch - Thickens the pears' released juices as the pear crisp bakes.

• Cinnamon - A small touch of ground cinnamon nicely compliments the flavor of the pears.

For the topping, you'll need:

• All-purpose flour - Serves as the base of the crisp topping.

• Old-fashioned oats - Lend texture and "bulk" to the topping. The larger flakes of old-fashioned oats work best and bring the best textural element to the crisp topping; I do not recommend substituting (the much smaller) quick oats.

• Brown sugar - Provides the topping's sweetness.

• Walnuts - Coarsely chopped walnuts bring a nice bit of textural crunch to the topping. Pecans could be substituted, if you prefer.

• Cinnamon - A small bit of ground cinnamon nicely flavors the topping, complimenting the pear filling below.

• Salt - As with most baked goods, salt enhances the topping's flavors.

• Butter - Cut into the topping mixture, cold butter helps moisten the topping as it bakes and helps create those classic clumps we all know and love in fruit crisp desserts.

How to Make Fresh Pear & Walnut Crisp:

Fresh Pear & Walnut Crisp is really easy to make, which is nice.

To get a pan started, simply core and slice some fresh pears and place the slices in a 2-quart baking dish. Then toss the slices with fresh lemon juice, and coat them in a mixture of sugar, cornstarch, and ground cinnamon.

When working with store-bought pears there's no need to peel them. -- Unless, of course, you prefer the pears without skin. Then by all means, peel away to your heart's content. We've found that our home-grown pears have a thicker skin than store-bought ones and are too "chewy" in the crisp, so we peel them.

Top the sliced pears with a mixture of flour, old-fashioned oats, brown sugar, coarsely chopped walnuts, and butter.

Then pop the pear crisp in the oven and bake it up for about 40 minutes, until the pears are tender and the crisp topping is a nice golden brown.

Then you've got yourself one delicious comfort food dessert.

Throw on a scoop of vanilla ice cream, frozen yogurt, or a little whipped cream for each serving, or go plain just as it is -- whatever you prefer. Because no matter how you take it, Fresh Pear & Walnut Crisp is one delicious comfort food dessert.

It's one of my absolute favorites, for sure. And not just because of the wonderful personal memories that go with it.

Check out these other super tasty fruit-based desserts:

• Fresh Peach Crisp
• Blueberry Crisp
• Fresh Strawberry Crisp
• Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler
• Brown Sugar Baked Peaches
• Mom's Apple Crisp
• Crescent Roll Apple Dumplings
• More dessert recipes

Thank you for stopping by The Kitchen is My Playground. We'd love to have you back soon!

pear crisp recipe, pear walnut crisp recipe, desserts with pears, fresh pear crisp

Dessert

American

Yield: 8-10 servings

Author: Tracey | The Kitchen is My Playground

Fresh Pear & Walnut Crisp

With tender fresh pears topped with an oats, brown sugar, and walnut crumb topping, Fresh Pear & Walnut Crisp makes for one delicious comfort food dessert. Enjoy it warm or chilled, with or without a scoop of vanilla ice cream or dollop of whipped cream -- any way you take it, it's delicious!

Prep time: 25 MinCook time: 40 MinTotal time: 1 H & 5 M

Ingredients

For the pear filling:

• 6 c. sliced pears (about 3 lbs.)
• 1 T. fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 c. granulated sugar
• 1 T. cornstarch
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

For the crisp topping:

• 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 T. cold butter, cut in small pieces
• 1/3 c. old-fashioned oats
• 1/4 c. coarsely chopped walnuts

Instructions

Prepare pear filling:

1. Core pears and cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch thick slices. (You don't need to peel the pears unless they have a thick skin, or if you prefer to enjoy them skinless.)
2. Combine pears and lemon juice in a 2-quart baking dish; toss gently to coat pear slices.
3. Combine sugar, cornstarch, and the 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon; stir together with a whisk. Add this mixture to the pears, tossing well to coat pears.

Prepare crisp topping & bake:

1. Combine flour, the 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, brown sugar, and salt. With a fork, pastry cutter, or your fingers, work in the butter pieces until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
2. Add oats and chopped walnuts.
3. Sprinkle mixture evenly over the pears.
4. Bake at 375℉ for 40 minutes, or until pears are tender and crisp topping is golden brown. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

TRACEY'S NOTES:

1. I generally use Bartlett pears, which are a variety you can easily find in the grocery store.
2. Keep in mind that a 2-quart baking dish is slightly smaller than a 9x13-inch baking dish.
3. Pear & Walnut Crisp is delicious plain just as it is, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt, or with a dollop of whipped cream.

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Blueberry Crisp

Fresh Peach Crisp

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