Tag Archives: pears

Blog, Recipes

Brown Sugar Caramel Pear Crisp

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Warm caramel pear crisp topped with a crisp oatmeal topping is perfect the cold late winter days.

Brown Sugar Caramel Pear Crisp <- new go-to winter treat

Every February I get that feeling that Spring isn’t too far away. And while in some parts of the states that is probably true, here in the Northeast we don’t get real spring weather until close to May. So to make it through that long cold stretch, we need warm, comforting dessert.

Brown Sugar Caramel Pear Crisp <- we loved this recipe!

Crisps, crumbles and cobblers never fail to disappoint. Warm sweet fruit topped with a flavorful crumbly topping, often served with ice cream… what’s not to like? Here I took advantage of the plethora of pears we had while they are still in season. They paired so well with a brown sugar caramel. If you want, you can serve the crisp with ice cream and additional caramel sauce (the recipe makes more than enough for the crisp itself). However, this was really good enough to stand on it’s own. The pears almost melt in your mouth and the oatmeal-ful topping is so satisfying.

Brown Sugar Caramel Pear Crisp - SUCH a good recipe!!

Brown Sugar Caramel Pear Crisp
 
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Warm caramel pear crisp topped with a crisp oatmeal topping is perfect the cold late winter days.
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Makes: Serves 6
Ingredients
Topping:
  • 55g (~1/2 cup) oat flour* (I pulsed my oatmeal in the food processor until it was the consistency of flour)
  • 40g (~1/2 cup) old fashioned oatmeal*
  • 70g (~1/3 cup, tightly packed) light brown sugar
  • ½g (¼ teaspoon) ground cinnamon
  • 55g (1/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
Filling:
  • 700g sliced ripe pears (about 4 large)
  • 15g (~2 tablespoons) oat flour* (I pulsed my oatmeal in the food processor until it was the consistency of flour)
  • ⅓ cup brown sugar caramel sauce (recipe below)
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
  2. In a medium bowl, prepare topping; mix together oat flour, oatmeal and brown sugar
  3. Add butter and use fingers to combine until mixture is slightly lumpy; set aside
  4. Prepare filling; in 9-inch round shallow baking dish (like a pie plate), stir together pears, oat flour and caramel sauce
  5. Distribute topping evenly over top of fruit
  6. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until filling is bubbling and topping is lightly browned, if you see that topping has started to get to brown early, lightly cover with tin foil for remainder of baking time
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Brown Sugar Caramel Sauce
 
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Brown sugar-based caramel sauce adds a special element to the pear crisp!
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Makes: 1 cup
Ingredients
  • 234g (1 cup tightly packed) light brown sugar
  • 113g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
  • 118 milliliters (1/2 cup) whole milk
  • 5g (1 teaspoon) salt
Instructions
  1. Place the sugar, butter, and salt in a medium-sized heavy-duty pot over medium heat; stir until the butter and sugar have dissolved
  2. Sir in milk; increase heat to medium-high and continue to cook for four minutes (mixture should come to a boil within one minute); immediately remove from heat and stir; pour into a heat-proof bowl to cool
  3. Store in refrigerator up to one week before using; re-heat gently in microwave to loosen before using
Notes
Adapted from Recipe from The Level Headed Chef
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Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it onInstagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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Apple and Pear Crisp

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Warm apple and pear crisp is comforting and delicious, especially with ice cream!

***This post was originally published five years ago! It’s one of my favorite recipes and was worth sharing again with new photos and an easily printable recipe. And yes, once again, we ate the whole thing in one weekend.***

Warm pear and apple crisp is seriously the best comfort food!

I call this a weekend dessert because it won’t last you more than 2 days.  Whether you live alone or with a significant other, or especially if you have kids, this dessert will be eaten in less than 2 days.  I speak the truth because I baked mine last night and now there is none left.

One week after a trip to Costco, we still had a ton of apples and pears left uneaten.  The apples wouldn’t go bad, but I knew the pears would be browned and bruised in a few days.  Obviously the only solution is baking:-)  Since I have seen so many apple crisps in the blogworld lately, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and make one of my own.

Obsessed with this pear and apple crisp!

Yesterday was an amazing day.  I had no real agenda and was able to take advantage of the cloudless sky and perfect temperatures with a walk along the west side of Manhattan.  It was my first weekend in MONTHS without an event or travelling.  It was amazing!  And really, there aren’t many things better than a perfect fall day that ends with a warm Apple and Pear Crisp topped with vanilla ice cream.

I used 3 bartlett pears and 3 honeycrisp apples (great deal on those at Costco, fyi) to make a crisp that should serve 6.  We got 4 servings…

Sidenote, any dessert served warm with ice cream is a winner in my book

Apple and Pear Crisp
 
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Warm apple and pear crisp is comforting and delicious, especially with ice cream!
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Makes: 6 servings
Ingredients
Filling:
  • 3 large honeycrisp apples, thinly sliced*
  • 3 ripe but firm medium pears, thinly sliced**
  • 40g (1/4 cup) white whole wheat flour
  • 50g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
  • 2g (1 teaspoon) ground cinnamon
Topping:
  • 80g (1/2 cup) white whole wheat flour
  • 115g (1/2 cup, tightly packed) brown sugar (light or dark)
  • 1g (1/2 teaspoon) ground cinnamon
  • 71g (5 tablespoons) unsalted butter, chilled
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Make filling:
  1. Place apples and pears into a large mixing bowl
  2. Stir in the flour, sugar, and cinnamon until all fruit is coated
  3. Spread out the filling in a 9×9 pan or baking dish
Make topping:
  1. Cut your butter into the mixture of brown sugar, flour and cinnamon
  2. Use fingers to combine until you are left with small lumps and pour it over the apples
  3. Bake for about 50-60 minutes or until fruit is tender and bubbling and the topping is browned
  4. Allow to cool for a few minutes and then serve topped with ice cream and or whipped cream
Notes
*honeycrisp worked really well, a mixture of braeburn and granny smith would be good for a sweet and tart combination; peeling optional
**I used bartlett but bosc would also work; peeling optional
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Amazing pear and apple crisp, we are obsessed

Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it onInstagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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Winter Fruit Crisp {Gluten-free}

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I made this fruit crisp so long ago, I had to hunt through piles and piles of notes and butter-stained papers to find it.  Well, I guess Thanksgiving wasn’t that long ago, but right now it feels like a lifetime.

Winter Fruit Crisp {Gluten-free}

Fruit crisps are one of my favorite desserts.  I mean, anything that is served warm with ice cream is always good, but since there is fruit you can pretty much rationalize that it is healthy, too.  This version is a good compromise since it is made with oatmeal and oat flour.  Butter, sugar, what?  Just look at all that fruit!

Winter Fruit Crisp {Gluten-free}

I’ve actually been making a version of this for years but wanted to take out the gluten so that my sister could also enjoy it for the holiday.  Honestly, you don’t miss a thing.  I could not taste a difference and neither could any of our guests.

Winter Fruit Crisp {Gluten-free}

Winter Fruit Crisp {Gluten-free}
 
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A warm and comforting winter dessert! This fruit crisp is full of apples, pears and cranberries.
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Makes: 12-18 servings
Ingredients
Topping:
  • 4 ounces (~1 cup) oat flour (I pulsed my oatmeal in the food processor until it was the consistency of flour)
  • 3⅜ ounces (~1 cup) old fashioned oatmeal
  • 5.5 ounces (~2/3 cup, tightly packed) light brown sugar
  • 4 ounces (1/2 cup /  1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature, cut into small cubes
Filling:
  • 6 medium apples (preferably a combination of honey crisp and granny smith)
  • 3 large pears, any type (ripe but still firm)
  • 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
  • 5⅝ ounces (~3/4 cup) granulated sugar
  • 1⅜ ounces (~1/3 cup) oat flour (I pulsed my oatmeal in the food processor until it was the consistency of flour)
  • ½ tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (~1/2 lemon)
  • 3 ounces (6 tablespoons / ¾ stick) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; grease a 9x13 or two 8-inch square baking dishes and set aside
  2. In a medium bowl, prepare topping; mix together oat flour, oatmeal and brown sugar
  3. Add butter and use fingers to combine until mixture is slightly lumpy; set aside
  4. Prepare filling; In a very large bowl, stir together fruit, granulated sugar, oat flour, cinnamon, lemon juice and butter
  5. Spread filling into prepared baking dish(es); sprinkle evenly with topping
  6. Bake for about 1 hour 20 minutes or until filling is bubbling, apples can be poked with a fork and topping is browned; if you see that topping has started to get to brown, lightly cover with tin foil for remainder of baking time
Notes
Adapted from Bon Appetit
*If serving to someone with a gluten allergy make sure your ingredients are labeled gluten-free
Best served warm with vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt.
The entire dish can be made ahead of time and kept in refrigerator until ready to bake; may require extra cooking time if cold
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Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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Amazing Winter Fruit Crisp
Blog, Recipes

Pear and Cheese Pockets

32 Comments

I have a few weaknesses in life:

1) Post-holiday candy sales at CVS

2) Ice cream on sale at the market*

3) Bulk anything at Costco

*Who can blame me when it costs $7.99 / half gallon in NYC!

Pear and Cheese Pockets

It must be in my blood to love Costco. My Dad is a walking advertisement for the store. He won’t make a purchase anywhere else until he knows Costco doesn’t have that particular item (that includes clothing, kitchen appliances, tools, etc.). Actually, for someone who isn’t a big shopper, the man can easily get sucked into buying almost anything there. If they sold drum sets in the store, he’d probably sleep there. So, it is no surprise that although I live in a tiny apartment with limited storage space, I insist on having a membership and grabbing whatever I can because it is such a good deal. Never mind the fact that we store toilet paper under the bed and canned chickpeas in several different cabinets. I even bought Kirkland brand Uggs this year for such a good price that I could throw them away when it warms up if I can’t find a place to keep them.Pear and Cheese Pockets

On our most recent trip to Costco we purchased so much fruit (bananas, pears, asian pears, mangos, nectarines, strawberries, and blueberries) that the husband started to get stressed out about eating it all. He clearly underestimates my daily produce consumption. To make him feel better, though, I promised to use some for baking. The berries and bananas were already gone and some of the other fruit had dwindled down, but we still had a lot of just-ripened juicy pears.

pears

I wanted to make something tasty that could be eaten for breakfast, snacks or dessert and wouldn’t weigh you down. At the same time, I didn’t want to make it “diet-like.” These Pear and Cheese Pockets are a perfect compromise. They are somewhere in-between a danish, poptart, and toaster strudel with a combination of fresh and packaged ingredients.

I used these crescent roll sheets for the pockets and filled them with some cooked pears and a lightly sweetened cream cheese filling. They are best served fresh out of the oven when the filling is warm and gooey and the outside is crisp but soft in the middle. However, leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator and re-heated via toaster.

crescent rolls

Start by making the pear filling

pears sliced

Melt butter over low heat

butter in pan

butter melted

Add brown sugar and combine

add brown sugar

butter sugar combined

Once brown sugar and butter are melted, add pears and stir to coatadd pears

Add cinnamon to mixture and stir

add cinnamon

Cook pears over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes; remove from heat and set aside

pears cooked

For cream cheese filling, beat cream cheese in a mixer until creamy

cream cheese

Add vanilla and greek yogurt

add vanilla and greek yogurt

Once combined, stir in confectioners’ sugar

add sugar

Once fillings are ready, lay out the dough

dough

Cut each package into 8 rectangles dough sliced

Stretch rectangles out on foil sprayed with cooking spray; top one side of dough with about a teaspoon of cream cheese mixture

spread filling

Then add a couple tablespoons of pear fillingPear and Cheese Pockets

Fold the other half of the dough over and press down around the edges to seal; take a fork and press down around the edges fancy them up

Pear and Cheese Pockets

Bake for 12 –13 minutes or until top is golden brown

Pear and Cheese Pockets

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Pear and Cheese Pockets

Yield: 16 pockets

Ingredients

  • 3 large pears, thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 8-ounce package light cream cheese, softened at room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons fat free greek yogurt
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 2 8-ounce packages crescent roll dough

Cooking Directions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees
  2. To make the pear filling, melt butter over low heat
  3. Add brown sugar and combine; once brown sugar and butter are melted, add pears and stir to coat
  4. Add cinnamon to mixture and stir
  5. Cook pears over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes; remove from heat and set aside
  6. For cream cheese filling, beat cream cheese on high speed until creamy
  7. Add vanilla and greek yogurt and beat on high
  8. Once combined, stir in confectioners’ sugar
  9. Once fillings are ready, lay out the dough
  10. Cut each package into 8 rectangles
  11. Stretch rectangles out on foil sprayed with cooking spray; top one side of dough with about a teaspoon of cream cheese mixture without coating the edges
  12. Top cream cheese with about 2 tablespoons of pear filling
  13. Fold the other half of the dough over and press down around the edges to seal; take a fork and press down around the to add a design
  14. Bake for 12-13 minutes or until top is golden brown

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Pear and Cheese Pockets

What are your shopping weaknesses?