Pear Crisp

It's summer, which means I've got loads of good fruit in my fridge.  Unfortunately, I seem to be the only one who chooses voluntarily to eat it.  Aside from bribery and threats (you EAT this orange or you're losing your phone!), I've found that disguising it as a baked good is somewhat effective.

Case in point, these pears.

I only like them when they're crunchy.  When they start to get sloppy (my husband's preference), I won't eat them anymore.  These six were just at the turning point, and I knew it would take an act of God to get anybody to eat them quickly.  Though we're all about acts of God here, I thought I'd save my prayers for more important things and make a pear crisp instead.

Generally if a recipe calls for peeling something, I'm not that excited about it.  Peeling and coring--for sure not.  I'm all about potato dishes that call for unpeeled potatoes, and citrus dishes that require squeezing instead of segments.  No way around it for pear crisp.  

No lie, there is sugar in this, but I used much less than many other crisp recipes I've got stocked up on my Pinterest boards.  Still, sugar does wonderful things to fruit.  And just about everything else. 

To sneak in more healthy ingredients my family wouldn't usually eat, I added chopped walnuts to the oats and flour.  Walnuts are super healthy.  And they taste good.

While fruit crisps require peeling and coring and slicing, they don't require rolling a crust.  A definite nod in their favor.  Just sprinkle on the crumble part, and you're good to go.

Oh, are you good to go.  The pear-haters in this house didn't complain about this one.  Particularly when I served it warm, with a scoop of vanilla.  

It's good friends.  And it just might help you get your 5 servings in today.

Pear Crisp
My own concoction
 
For the fruit layer:
6 pears, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

For the crumble layer:
1 cup old-fashioned oats (not quick cook)
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350, and butter a 9 x 13 (or thereabouts) casserole dish or cake pan.  Combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg well.  Place the sliced pears in a large bowl, and toss with the sugar mixture.  Transfer to the greased pan.  In the now-emptied bowl, combine the oats, walnuts, flour and cinnamon.  Add melted butter, and mix until it's well incorporated.  Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the top of the sliced pears.  Bake for about 30 minutes, until the crisp is browned and bubbly.  Allow the crisp to cool a bit before serving, and definitely add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the top before serving.  Enjoy!