Apple Pear Crumble

Our fall CSA boxes left us with a refrigerator draw full of apples and pears.  Apples usually don't last long in our house as I eat one almost every day (it is the perfect snack at 4:30pm to help me get through a workout after work) but these apples were really ideal for baking rather than snacking.  So they started to pile up. 

Crumbles are such a great late fall and winter dessert.  They make the house smell amazing and they are pure comfort food.  This one is delicious.  Even if there are only two of you in the house, it won't last long.

This recipe is a keeper for us.  I did cut back the sugar by half - the fruit brought enough sweetness on its own.  But if your apples are particularly tart you might want a bit more sugar.  And it doesn't really need whipped cream as suggested for serving, although a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream is a lovely addition.

Apple, Pear, and Dried-Cherry Crumble

Serves 6-8
Adapted from Bon Appetit

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 4 cups)
• 2 large pears, peeled, cored, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 3 cups)
• 1 cup dried cherries (about 6 ounces) (dried cranberries are a tasty substitution)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch oval ceramic baking dish. Mix 1/2 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and nutmeg in large bowl. Add apples, pears, and dried cherries to bowl; sprinkle with lemon juice and toss to coat. Transfer to prepared dish.

Using fingertips, mix butter, brown sugar, lemon peel, remaining 1 1/2 cups flour, and remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon in medium bowl until moist clumps form. Crumble butter mixture over fruit.

Bake until fruit bubbles at edges and crumble is crisp and beginning to brown on top, about 1 hour. Cool about 20 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream or perhaps fresh whipped cream.

Vanilla Bean Plum Pear Jam

There is one thing that can occasionally be really difficult about a CSA box... eating all of it before something spoils!  When there are only two of you and a work is a little crazy and you are going away for the weekend, well those are the times that it can be a challenge to make sure that something out of that awesome CSA box doesn't go to waste.  A few weeks ago I found myself staring at a container of ripe plums and pears on the eve of heading out of town for a little getaway.  I just couldn't toss them!

So it was time to make a batch of jam.  I turned up the Rolling Stones station on Pandora and set to work. 

It might sound like an odd combination, plum and pear, but it is so good!  The purple from the plum makes it a really pretty color.  And I tend to love that little something extra that comes with a vanilla bean scraped in with the fruit... so in it went.  This jam is destined to be a holiday gift.

My Generation by The Who is a pretty excellent soundtrack to making jam.

Vanilla Bean Plum Pear Jam

2.2 pounds of fruit (I had about 2/3rds of it as pear)

1 pound of sugar

1/2 vanilla bean

Juice from 1/2 lemon

Peel and dice the fruit, mix it with the sugar and vanilla bean (split and scraped) in a medium bowl and let sit for an hour.

Bring fruit mixture to a boil in a large pot, stirring often.

Cook, stirring often, until bubbles slow, foam subsides, fruit rises to the top, and jam sticks to a wooden or metal spoon when lifted from mixture, about 10 minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice to taste. Can to make shelf stable.  Or for more immediate use, let cool for 1 hour and refrigerate.

Enjoy!

Pear & Fresh Ginger Crisp

Pears are a fruit that I don’t cook with often enough.  Honestly, neither Dan nor I gravitate towards them so they rarely find their way into our shopping carts.  Every now and then I get on a kick of thinking that I will eat them more and buy a few, which inevitable end up sit there sadly and giving me guilt for being wasteful. 

I was determined to use up the remaining overly-ripe pears that were left over after the scones.  With too few for the pear tart that they were originally destined for and too ripe for a few other ideas, I landed on a Pear Ginger Crisp.  And what a find it was!

There were only enough pears for a half batch (which is what I am posting for the recipe) but when there are only two of you that can be a good thing for waistlines.    And my love affair with using ramekins for individual ramekins has found its way to crisps.   A set of individual sized oval baking dishes would be absolutely perfect for serving this dish for a dinner party with a small scoop of honey or vanilla bean ice cream to finish it off.

Pear & Fresh Ginger Crisp

Slightly adapted from The Craft of Baking

Serves 3

3 ripe Bartlett or Anjou Pears peeled, cored, and diced
1/8 cup sugar
1 Tbsp finely grated fresh ginger

3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
heaping 1/8 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup coarsly chopped almonds
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

In a bowl mix the pear, ginger, and sugar.  Let the mixture stand at room temperature so the juices being draw out from the fruit.

For the streusel topping, mix just until combined the flour, sugar, brown sugar, almonds, cinnamon, and salt.  Add the melted butter and stir just until it the streusel comes together.  Spread onto a baking sheet and chill in the refridgerator until firm, about 15 minutes.  The streusal can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Pour the fruit and juice into a small 3-cup baking dish or into individual ramekins.  Top with the streusal.  Place the baking dish (or ramekins) on the foil lined baking sheet and bake, rotating the sheet half-way through, until the fruit is tender, the juices are bubbling and thickened and the topping browned, about 40 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving it warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

~ Tara

Pear Scones with Almond Glaze

The simple act of trying to use up a fruit or veggie to avoid throwing it away can lead to awesome discoveries, some delicious little dish that you might not have considered without prompting.  We had a couple of pears that were this close to being a waste.  It drives me nuts to be wasteful and throwing away food that had potential to be some kind of goodness is the worst offense.  So these pears that were almost a victim of the non-cooking period as moved to a new apartment led to the discovery of two perfectly delectable dishes. 

We lean towards the savory for breakfast in our home.  But every once in a while inspiration for a baked breakfast treat will strike, this time it was in those very ripe pears.  I hunted a bit for a pear scone recipe but found myself pulling out the Joy of Cooking for a super simple, low number of ingredients, classic for my base.    As I mixed in the super juicy diced pear I believed these scones would be a big huge fail.  But a tiny bit more flour for the kneading balanced out the extra juice.

I find pear to be subtle.  The flavor doesn’t really jump out and compete for your attention.  So while a little cinnamon adds to these scones, I kept it to a scant ½ teaspoon to avoid turning them into a cinnamon scone.

Baking for breakfast really sets up the atmosphere for your day to be a cozy one.  The aroma is a lovely prelude to the treat of scones and coffee (or tea) to be followed by reading the paper under a cozy throw.

Pear Scones with Almond Glaze

Adapted from the Classic Scones in Joy of Cooking

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup diced pear
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 large egg
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 to 3 tsp cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt.  Then cut in the butter with pastry blender until the largest pices are the size of peas and it resembles bread crumbs.  Do not allow the butter to melt or form a paste.  Stir in the pears and cinnamon.

Whisk together in a small bowl the egg and heavy cream.  With a rubber spatula mix the egg mixture in with the dry ingredients just until moistened.  Bather the dough into a ball and knead it gently against the sides and bottom of the bowl 5 to 10 times, pressing any loose pieces into the dough and adding a tiny bit of flour if your pears are very juicy. 

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and pat it into an 8 inch round about 3/4 inch thick.  Cut into 8 or 12 wedges and place at least 1/2 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet.  Brush the tops with the 2 to 3 tsp cream or milk.

Bake until tops are golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.  While they bake stir together the glaze.  Allow to cool on a rack, drizzling with glaze while still warm.

Almond Glaze

2/3 c powdered sugar
2 Tbsp honey
1/8 tsp almond extract
1/4 cup toasted almonds, crushed or sliced
1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Stir everything together, adding additional lemon juice until at desired consistency. 

 So I did mention that those pears led to two yummy discoveries, the gooey pear dessert will be up next!

Enjoy!



Fall Fruit Crumble

It is no secret that I have a sweet tooth.  I will eat a smaller dinner to save room for dessert if a yummy treat is planned.  And right now with the crisp, fall air a crumble or a crisp just sounds so very good! 

I had bookmarked this fall crumble recipe as soon as I stumbled upon it and made sure to pick up the ingredients right away... then for a series of reasons (one of which included eating way to much for dinner to even think about making a dessert) it was several days before we could fit it in.  And it was so very good that I am afraid to say that we finished the entire thing ourselves!  I couldn't stop sneaking bites! The combination of flavors is just perfect.  And the crumbly top? That too is perfectly balanced with the fruity filling. 

Honestly, I wouldn't change a thing for this recipe (other than rounding up the vanilla to 1 full teaspoon) and I would definitely recommend fitting it into your cooking plans as soon as you can.  It did take a bit longer than 20 minutes for us (but our oven is wonky).  It is wonderful.

Fall Fruit Crumble

Source: Gourmet
Serves 6

2 cups fresh or thawed frozen cranberries
2 firm-ripe pears such as Bartlett, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 apples such as Gala, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup sugar, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt 1 stick unsalted butter, softened

Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle.

Stir together fruits, 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla and place in a buttered shallow 2-quart baking dish.

Stir together oats, flour, salt, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Blend in butter with your fingertips until mixture forms small clumps. Scatter over fruit and bake until juices are bubbling and topping is golden brown, about 20-35 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

Enjoy!

* Update: I completely forgot to mention this earlier, but this is also a super fast dessert recipe.  Seriously only takes minutes to stir up and then bake.  Perfect for a little team work- I stirred it up while Dan did the dishes from dinner and then we watched a show while it baked... makes for a nice finish to a mid-week day!

~ Tara