Pear and Apple Crisp with a Ginger Crust

This was a very tasty and healthy dessert and it tasted even better a few days later! This is the season for apples and pears and since I couldn't decide which one to make a crisp out of, I just combined them! Heated up with some vanilla ice cream or soy ice cream this really hit the spot. I found a recipe for an easy Harvest Crisp on Epicurious, so I altered it a bit to make the ginger and cinnamon flavors pop. This recipe makes a lot so unless you are making it for a gathering, I recommend cutting it in half. Or you can just have it for dessert every night of the week! I would say this recipe is really easy to make, but then I remember that I put my friend to work to do all the peeling and chopping of the apples and pears which took a bit of time. A nice thing about this recipe is that the crust can be made ahead of time (up to one day ahead) which makes the assembly very smooth.

Pear and Apple Crisp with a Ginger Crust

(Makes 8-10 servings)

Ingredients:

Crust:

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 cup old fashioned oats

1/2 cup coarsely chopped almonds

1/4 cup crystallized ginger, cut into small pieces

Filling:

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 pinch salt

3 large pears, peeled and chopped

3 large apples, peeled and chopped

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:

1. For the crust; whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Using your hands, add the butter and work quickly to incorporate it into moist clumps. Stir in the oats, almonds and ginger. Chill while you prepare the filling.

2. For the filling; pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Add in the pears and apples and toss to get evenly coated. Transfer to a 13x9 baking dish. Spread the crust evenly on top and drizzle the lemon juice over the entire dish.

3. Bake until the crust is golden and the juices are bubbly. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. YUM!