One of my favorite desserts for chilly days is a spice pear crisp that’s warm, comforting, and full of flavor. If you love apple crisp, you’ll love this pear version too. It has a tender and juicy pear filling, spiced with vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and ginger and a crunchy oat topping. The best part is, this pear crisp is super easy to make, with only 10 minutes of prep time and one bowl. You can bake it right away or freeze it for later, making it a great way to use up those ripe pears you have in your kitchen.
Customizing This Recipe
This recipe is very adaptable and you can make some substitutions to suit your preferences or dietary needs. Here are some options:
- To make this recipe vegan, use vegan butter or coconut oil instead of regular butter. I like to use vegan butter for a richer flavor, but coconut oil works well too.
- To add some extra crunch and protein to the topping, you can add some chopped nuts of your choice, such as pecans, walnuts, or almonds.
- To change up the flavor of the filling, you can add some orange zest to the pear mixture. You can also use different spices, such as cloves, allspice, or star anise.
- You can swap the pears for apples if you like.
Choosing the Best Pears for Baking
When choosing pears for baking, you want to look for firm, slightly underripe pears that will hold their shape and flavor well under heat. Some of the best varieties for baking are Bosc, Anjou, Bartlett, and Concorde. Avoid using overly ripe or soft pears, as they may become mushy and watery when baked. You can also use a mix of different pears for more variety and complexity.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
If you have any leftovers of this pear crisp, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To reheat, you can either microwave individual servings for a few seconds, or bake the whole crisp in a 350°F oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until warm and bubbly.
Spiced Pear Crisp
- 8 x 8 inch freezer friendly baking pan
For the filling:
- 6 firm pears, peeled, cored and sliced (about 1.5 lbs or 6 cups sliced)
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup (50 g) brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground ginger
For the topping:
- 1/4 cup (30 g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (75 g) old-fashioned oats
- 1/4 cup (50 g) brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- A pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
To bake it immediately:
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C) and lightly grease the baking pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, toss the pear slices with the brown sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, lemon juice and ginger until well coated. Transfer the pear mixture to the prepared baking pan and spread it evenly.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Drizzle the melted butter over the flour mixture and stir until crumbly.
- Sprinkle the crumble topping over the pear layer, covering it completely.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the topping is golden and the pears are bubbly.
- Let the crisp cool slightly before serving with whipped cream or ice cream if desired.
To freeze it before baking:
- Follow steps 2 to 4 as above, but do not preheat the oven or grease the baking pan.
- Wrap the unbaked crisp tightly with aluminum foil and label it with the name, date and baking instructions.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
- To bake, preheat oven to 375°F (190°C) and unwrap the frozen crisp.
- Place it in a greased baking pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until the topping is golden and the pears are bubbly.
- Let the crisp cool slightly before serving with whipped cream or ice cream if desired.
