Tender Pears with Golden Crumble (Printable Version)

Tender pears beneath a thick, buttery oat crumble topping. Golden, crunchy, and perfectly spiced with cinnamon.

# Components:

→ Pear Filling

01 - 6 ripe pears, peeled, cored, and sliced
02 - 2 tablespoons lemon juice
03 - 1/4 cup granulated sugar
04 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
05 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
06 - 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

→ Crumble Topping

07 - 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
08 - 1/2 cup rolled oats
09 - 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
10 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
11 - 1/4 teaspoon salt
12 - 3/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed

# Method Steps:

01 - Preheat the oven to 375°F.
02 - In a large mixing bowl, toss the sliced pears with lemon juice, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and flour until evenly coated. Spread the mixture in a greased 9-inch baking dish.
03 - In a separate bowl, combine flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add the cold, cubed butter and rub with fingertips or use a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some larger chunks remaining.
04 - Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over the pears, pressing down gently to create a thick, crunchy layer.
05 - Bake for 35 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and the filling bubbles slightly at the edges.
06 - Cool slightly before serving. Serve warm, optionally with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The topping gets genuinely crunchy in a way that makes you want to eat it straight from the baking dish before anyone notices.
  • Pears are forgiving fruit; they don't require the precision of other fillings, so your first attempt will taste nothing like a disaster.
  • It comes together in under an hour, making it perfect for those moments when unexpected guests arrive and you want to seem like you've been planning all along.
02 -
  • Don't skip the cooling time; I learned this the hard way by trying to serve a crumble straight from the oven, and it slumped all over the plate like a sad puddle.
  • The butter absolutely must be cold; warm or room temperature butter creates a dense, cake-like topping instead of the distinct crumbs that make this dish worth making.
03 -
  • If your pears release a lot of liquid during baking and the filling looks soupy, you can drain some of it off before serving; this happens more with very juicy varieties, and it's completely fixable.
  • Make the crumble topping mixture ahead of time and store it in the fridge or freezer; it's perfect for those moments when you want to assemble and bake quickly without any stress.
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