Raspberry Pear Crisp

The Christmas season is upon us! This really is the most wonderful time of year to gather with friends and family to share special treats and memories. One of my favorite winter desserts is a fruit crisp. A crisp usually has oatmeal on the top and cooks up to be like a crumbly cookie eaten with a pie like filling.

Not only is this a delicious way to eat fruit and stay warm, this is a terribly easy dessert to make for any potluck or occasion. The most important thing is having fruit that goes together nicely. I really love pears and raspberries. The fruit layer of the crisp creates a nice sauce that is perfectly sweet and tart to make your taste buds dance the Nutcracker. 

When looking at the crisp layer ingredients you may think there will be far too much of it for the amount of fruit you have, but do not worry! The crisp layer really sets up nicely over the fruit and it creates a nice balance. This is an adaptation of the Barefoot Contessa's crisp recipe. It is perfectly buttery, sweet and chewy from the oatmeal. I know you and your friends will just love it.

Ingredients

Fruit filling

12 ounces of raspberries, fresh or frozen

5 green or red pears, chopped into bite sized pieces

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 lemon juiced

1/4 cup flour

Crisp

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup old fashioned oats

1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold butter, diced

First, combine the pears, raspberries, lemon juice and zest, sugar and flour. Stir this well. You can peel the pears if you like, but I don't find it to be needed once the crisp has baked up.

Mix the flour, sugar, salt, and oats for the crisp in a large bowl. Make sure this is well combined before the butter is added.

Using a fork or pastry cutter, combine the butter into the dry ingredients. This takes some muscle and a few minutes of your time. You could also use a food processor to make this. When the crumbly topping is ready, it will look like wet sand. The goal is to have the butter mixed evenly in small pearls through out the dry ingredients. You should be able to squeeze these ingredients into a ball and have it hold a loose shape.

Sprinkle the crispy topping over the fruit. 

You will see there is a generous amount of the crisp topping, but you will not mind. Trust me.

Bake the crisp for 50 minutes to an hour in a 350 degree oven. You will know this is ready when the top is golden brown and the fruit in the center should be bubbling.