This…is so good. I mean really good. It never dawned on me to put pears in apple crisp until a reader, Nabeela, asked for pear recipes. Her question from last week has been the inspiration for finding ways to use pears. I had been working on ideas for using apples and an apple crisp recipe was already in the works, but then I thought that it would be great to add pears to the crisp and man, oh man, was it ever a great idea.
The pears add a sweet contrast to the tartness of the granny smith apples. I hadn’t expected that little surprise. I had thought that there wouldn’t be much difference between the apples and the pears, but it is definitely there. So, resist the urge to wolf everything down because it is so amazingly good. Take your time and really enjoy what you are eating.
Oh, and the crust is, well…don’t be surprised if you find yourself picking off the crumb crust and eating it all by itself. It’s sort of addicting.
Eat this while it is warm and maybe with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I had originally thought that it would be delicious with both vanilla ice cream and caramel butter sauce, but I have to tell you, this crisp does not need the sauce. It makes its own lovely sauce while it bakes.
Be sure to cut your fruit sort of thick, bigger than 1/4″ but less than 1/2″. So what would that be–3/8″ give or take a smidge in either direction? You want the fruit to have some body to it, so just don’t cut it thin. Make sense? You can see in this picture about how thick I cut everything. (Isn’t that cute fabric? I got it from Tricia. She’s become a sewing maniac!)
Apple-Pear Crisp
Ingredients
For the Fruit Filling
- 5 cups peeled, cored, and sliced apples (use a tart apple like granny smith)
- 5 cups peeled, cored and sliced pears
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 cup water
For the Crumble Topping
- 1 cup quick-cooking oats
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9- x 9-inch baking dish; set aside.
- Toss the cut apples and pears together in a large bowl; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the white sugar, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour over the apples and pears and stir together until the fruit is well coated. Put fruit mixture into prepared baking dish. Alternatively, the fruit can be divided between 8 smaller single-serving dishes.
- Pour 1/4 water evenly over fruit mixture. If using individual-size serving dishes, divide the water between the dishes.
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the oats, flour, 1 cup packed brown sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Pour the melted butter over the dry ingredients and toss together. The mixture should be crumbly. Sprinkle the crumble mixture evenly over the apple-pear mixture.
- Bake for about 45 minutes. If the top is browning too much, lay a piece of aluminum foil on top of the crumb topping. DO NOT fold it around the edges of the baking dish; the moisture from the baking process will cause the crumb topping to become soggy. Remove from oven and place on a wire wrack to cool a bit before eating. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
My mouth is totally watering! I will for sure cut the fruit thicker next time!
This looks fantastic. Going to try to make it tonight, will let you know what we think of it!!! Never had an apple crisp before, is it mostly like an apple pie?
Yes, it is similar to apple pie minus the pie crust. The crumble topping is excellent; I think that you will enjoy it.
Well, my apple-pear crisp is made…you are 100% right…the crumb crust is way too addicting! I have been picking on it (and can’t seem to stop) whilst the dish is cooling, I cannot wait to taste the pie!!! My husband might just come home to the apple-pear pie without any topping left! Uh oh…
This was a delicious treat. We. LOVED. It. So much easier and quicker to make than an apple pie. Thank you Terri for adding this recipe. We really enjoyed adding both pears and apples to it.
You’re welcome. Thought you’d like it! I sent the last of the one I had made home with my daughter yesterday. She said that they had each gotten about one bite of the last one I gave them and that the baby ate the rest!
i requsted apple crisp for my birthday for at least 4 years in a row, and my mom got mad at me every year for eating all the crust. i’m a purist, so i’m not sure if i could handle adding pears, but i’ll have to try it now, to be sure.
So Terri, Terri, Terri! I was just thinking about crisp because it is Sweet Becca’s birthday today & she LOVES crisp & homemade ice cream. I have galas on hand (but no pears alas) so I was looking them up to see if you could bake with them. Not really but that’s still all I have so maybe I’ll do it anyway and have applesauce crisp. But I digress from the point of my comment…I saw this about Granny Smiths on Allrecipes and it made me think about your “pairing” (pun intended) of apples and pears.
“One of the most popular tart apples, Granny Smiths are crisp and quite sour. They’re a good all-purpose cooking apple, and their flavor is enhanced when paired with sweeter, spicier apples in pies and crisps.”
I think that’s what your pears did for your apples! I have heard of them together before but have never tried it myself.