Christmas Desserts

For Christmas at my parent's house, I ended up making two desserts.  One, the Chocolate Hazelnut Ganache Tart that was already featured, and the second a Cranberry-Pear Crisp.  I thought this sounded rather festive and more seasonal than the other fruit based desserts I was considering.  My sister-in-law made an apple pie for our feast, so for the 6 of us, there was a dessert for every two people.  I like that kind of ratio.  I liked the Crisp a lot and would definitely make it again.

Courtesy of Martha Stewart.com

Cranberry Pear Crisp
Serves 6 - Hands-On Time: 20 minutes - Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes



Ingredients

• 4 to 6 firm pears (6 cups), cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups cranberries
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup chilled (1 stick) butter
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup light-brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup rolled oats
• Pinch of salt
• Vanilla ice cream (if desired)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel and cut 4 to 6 firm pears into 3/4-inch pieces to yield 6 cups. In a large bowl, toss pears with 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice. Add 1 1/2 cups cranberries and 1/3 cup sugar; toss well.
2. To make Oatmeal Crisp Topping: In a food processor, pulse 1/2 cup flour with 1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled butter until pea-size clumps form. Add 1/4 cup each granulated and light-brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 cup rolled oats, and a pinch of salt; pulse until large, moist clumps form, about 10 times. 
3. Transfer to six 8-ounce ramekins (or a 3-quart baking dish). Sprinkle with topping; bake until fruit is tender and topping is golden, about 25 minutes. Let cool at least 30 minutes before serving with vanilla ice cream, if desired.