Pear crisp or pear crumble?

One thing inspired this recipe, actually two. Two simple and beautiful things: a pear and some amazing granola! Oh yes, that’s all it takes to make something beautiful and delicious!

Those who were at the Foodbuzz Festival might recognize the culprits.

At the very beginning of the Tasting Pavillon, we were presented with a bag from one of the sponsors (Frog Hollow Farm) that contained a pear and a bag of granola. I wanted to put both to good use and I decided to make something that would recall the simplicity of these two ingredients. I decided for a crisp. Actually, in my mind the image of this dessert was formed well before I could give it a name. And that’s because, to be honest, I had no idea what the difference between a crisp and a crumble was until a week ago (when I made this recipe….I just did not have time to blog about it!)

Admitting my ignorance, I looked around for a description of both a crisp and a cobbler and of the difference between the two desserts. In a nutshell, for a crisp, you mix the fruit (any type, really! You know how much I love versatility!) with sugar and spices (optional) and you top with a mix. The mix always has butter and sugar and something to bind them, such as flour and/or oatmeal. A crumble is essentially the same in terms of the filling but you top it with a streusel, which is a mix of butter, sugar, flour and chopped nuts. The difference is mainly in the texture of the topping. [Main source: Dorie Greenspan “Baking From my Home to Yours”]

According to the description, what I made was a crisp. And this is what happened to it in 5 minutes!

Pear granola Grand Marnier crisp

Ingredients

Yields two individual crisps

For the topping

70 gr (2.5 oz or 1/2 cup) all-purpose flour

227 gr (8 oz) granola

57 gr (2 oz or 1/4 cup) brown sugar

30 gr (2 tbsp or ¼ cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

one pinch salt

For the filling

57 gr (2 tbsp or 1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

55 gr (1.0 oz or 1/4 cup) brown sugar

12 gr (1 tbsp) granulated sugar

12 gr (1 tbsp) all-purpose flour

a pinch of salt

2 pears, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 tsp Grand Marnier

To make the topping

In a medium bowl, quickly mix together the flour, the granola, the brown sugar, the butter, and the salt just until all the ingredients are well incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and let it chill for at least 1 hour. [I actually let it in the fridge overnight because I did not have time to bake the crisp that same day and everything went fine].

To make the filling and baking

Preheat the oven to 425F degrees.

In a medium bowl, stir together the sugars, the flour, and a pinch of salt. Add the pears and the Grand Marnier and toss to combine.

Toss butter with pear mixture and mix well.

Spoon the filling into two ramekins and sprinkle with the topping.

Bake for about 40-45 minute depending on the oven. When they are ready, let them cool on a cooling rack.

Optional: spread with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

Have a sweet day!