Pear and Pecan Crumble

It’s beginning to really feel like fall, so of course I’m craving the flavors of the season. That means plenty of pumpkin lattes, spice cake and oatmeal cookies. While I’m at it, I may as well add pear and pecan crumble to the list. Pears are one of my favorite fruits, but I’ve never actually baked with them. They don’t typically last that long enough around my kitchen, but today I made a conscious effort to deny myself from biting in to one of these ripe suckers and waiting until it was time to bake. It was definitely worth it!

Ingredients

For the fruit layer:
5 large, ripe pears (Bosc preferred)
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

For the crumble:
1-1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar (packed)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup chopped pecans
1 stick butter, melted

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8 inch x 8 inch baking pan with cooking spray and set it aside.

Peal, core and chop your pears into bite-size pieces. In a large bowl, stir together the chopped pear pieces and the sugar and salt. Set this aside while you prepare the crumble topping.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, both sugars, and cinnamon. Finely chop your pecans and add them to the bowl as well. Remove your butter from its paper, and melt it in the microwave (using a microwave-safe bowl) for two bursts of 20 seconds each.

Slowly drizzle the melted butter into the flour mixture while using a fork to combine until small clumps form.

Place the pear/sugar mixture in the bottom of the baking pan. Evenly cover the fruit layer with the crumble mixture.

Place the pan in the oven for about 35-40 minutes until the fruit bubbles around the edges and the topping becomes slightly brown.

Remove the pan from the oven and allow the pear crumble to rest/cool for about 5 minutes. Spoon into bowls and top with vanilla ice cream while it’s still warm!

Adapted from thepioneerwoman.com