Fruit crisps are desserts that I never tire of making.  They don’t require a recipe; all you have to do is “eyeball” some ingredients, and add more or less of what you like.  For me, I like to make a crisp that is lower in butter, but I add in ground almond meal (my secret ingredient) to add healthy monounsaturated fats, while upping the crunch factor.  I’ve seen recipes where a crisp this size uses 1 entire stick of butter; mine uses only 4 tablespoons total in both the filling and the topping.

Use whatever fruits you have on hand – you can throw in some frozen berries, or stone fruits like peaches during the summertime.  Choose firm pears and apples that will hold their shape after baking.  I found the D’Anjou pears perfect for this.  Apples like Fuji, Granny Smith, Cortland, and Gala are great and don’t break down too much after baking.  Red Delicious, on the other hand, are not meant for baking and will become mushy.

Pear & Apple Crisp

serves about 6

For the pear-apple mixture:

- 2 large pears (D’Anjou), peeled, cored, and sliced (makes about 3 cups)

- 3 small apples (Fuji), peeled, cored, and sliced (makes about 3 cups)

- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

- 1 Tbsp cornstarch

- 1 Tbsp lemon juice

- 3 Tbsp granulated sugar

- 1 Tbsp brown sugar

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon

- 1/4 tsp freshly grated ginger

- 1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

For the streusel topping:

- 3 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, diced

- 1/4 cup almond meal

- 1/2 cup rolled oats

- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

- 1/4 cup brown sugar

- 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Nonstick cooking spray

Preparation:

1.  Preheat oven to 375°F.  Lightly spray an 8″ x 8″ square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2.  In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the fruit mixture.  Pour fruit filling into the baking pan.

3.  In a food processor, pulse all the streusel topping ingredients until mixture resembles large pebbles.  Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the fruit filling.

4.  Bake the crisp in the oven for about 20 minutes; then loosely place a piece of foil over the crisp, baking for another 25-30 minutes, until the crisp is bubbly and the fruit is tender when pierced with a fork.