Even though cold weather isn’t my cup of tea, I do enjoy the delicious fruit available at this time of year. There’s just something about a juicy pear, a fragrant orange, or a crisp apple that makes the frost on the ground a little more bearable.
Pears and Weight Loss
Pears are a fabulous fruit for weight loss, as they are an excellent source of fiber and antioxidants. This pear crisp is heavy on the whole grains and omega-3-rich walnuts, so it’s a more slimming option than crisps that have lots of white flour and white sugar in the ingredients.
And, oh the aroma when it’s baking! My house smells amazing right now!!
Pear’s to Your Health
Studies show that eating an abundance of fruit helps protect against cancer, macular degeneration, and heart disease, and can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
Autumn Pear Crisp
Honey-sweetened pears are baked under a flavorful topping of whole grain oats and omega-3-rich walnuts.
Ingredients
TOPPING
- 1 3/4 cup regular rolled oats (use gluten-free oats to make this recipe gluten-free)
- 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (use a mixture of rice flour and sorghum flour to make this recipe gluten-free)
- 1/3 cup turbinado sugar or evaporated cane juice – see note
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, scant
- 1/3 cup coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons honey or other sweetener
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, or other nut
FILLING
- 2 tablespoons apple juice concentrate
- 2 tablespoons honey or other sweetener
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot powder
- 7 medium pears
Instructions
- Place oats, flour, sugar, salt, and oil in food processor and pulse just until mixed. Mixture should resemble coarse crumbs. Do not over mix – you don’t want the oats to turn to flour.
- Add honey and pulse several times until mixed. Mixture should be crumbly, but moist. Add a tablespoon or so of water or apple juice if needed to make the mixture moist.
- Add nuts and process just until mixed. Set aside.
- Stir together juice concentrate, honey, and cornstarch or arrowroot in a large mixing bowl.
- Wash and peel pears. Cut in half lengthwise and remove core. Dice into small (1/2-inch) pieces and place into bowl. Mix well. (I use my food chopper to cut the pears quickly so they don’t turn brown.)
- Transfer pear mixture to an oiled 8-inch x 8-inch baking dish. Evenly distribute topping mixture over pears.
- Cover and bake at 350°F for 15 minutes. Remove cover and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until topping in nicely browned. Different varieties of honey will cause the topping to brown at different rates, so adjust baking time as needed. Serve warm or cold.
Notes
1. Regular rolled oats work best in this recipe, but quick-cooking oats will work fine too.
2. If you’d like a less sweet crisp, reduce the amount of sugar in the topping.
3. A food processor makes an easy job of mixing, but if you don’t have a food processor you can use a fork to mix the ingredients.
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Sarah
November 5, 2012 at 8:44 amThis sounds really good. What a good idea to use pears instead of apples!
Susan
November 5, 2012 at 9:20 amI made this to see if it’s as good as it looks. It is! I even cut down on the sugar a little. Scrumptious!
Jennifer
November 5, 2012 at 9:58 amI’m glad you liked it. I vary the sugar amounts too, depending on whether we want a healthy breakfast or dessert.
Jennifer
November 5, 2012 at 9:59 amHi Sarah,
It is delicious! I think pear crisp has become my new favorite.
Angie@Angie's Recipes
November 5, 2012 at 12:37 pmMy husband loves pears, but usually eat them raw. This would be a great change as he too has a sweet tooth.
Jennifer
November 5, 2012 at 5:19 pmHi Angie,
It’s a delicious way to enjoy pears! The come out of the oven so sweet and buttery. I’m eating a bowlful of crisp right now.
I hope you enjoy!
Jennifer
Joshua
November 6, 2012 at 12:43 pmThis is great, but I wish we had more of it!