Browned Butter Pear Crisp

Fall in love with this cinnamon spiced browned butter pear crisp. It’s warm, cozy and perfect for special occasions or chilly fall evenings!

I love apple crisp & peach crisp, but I have to say, this browned butter pear crisp tops them both! It’s sweet, packed full of cinnamon and topped with the most amazing browned butter topping and tastes delicious with vanilla ice cream.

I love pear season!

This recipe was sort of a happy accident. We buy pears in bulk during the fall and had a bunch of ripe ones laying around. I blended some with apples (homemade cinnamon pear-applesauce is the bomb btw) and used the rest in this crisp.

Because the pears were super ripe, I didn’t need to add a whole lot of sugar to the filling. I also opted not to peel them. You can do it if you really want to, but the texture didn’t bother me one bit.

The topping was nice and brown and the pears were super tender. Oh, and our house smelled h-e-a-v-e-n-l-y! 20 minutes after letting it rest, we dug in. We enjoyed our Browned Butter Pear Crisp while it was still warm enough to melt our big ole scoop of vanilla ice cream. We licked our bowls clean!!!

This crisp was warm, cozy and perfect for the chilly fall evening we had. It’s a tasty spin on apple crisp and is great with a handful of cranberries tossed in too! Enjoy & happy baking!!

Making Browned butter Pear Crisp

PREP. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Set aside an 8×8 square baking dish or a medium size gratin dish.

PEARS. In a large mixing bowl, toss the pears in the lemon juice. In a small mixing bowl whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and cardamom. Sprinkle over the pears and toss to coat, pour into the baking dish.

CRUMBLE. In a medium size mixing bowl whisk together the flour, oats, brown sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon; set aside.

BROWNED BUTTER. In a small saucepan set over medium heat, add the 4 tablespoons of butter. Heat until the butter foams then begins to brown and become speckled (about 3-5 minutes), whisking every so often. Pour into the bowl with the topping ingredients and mix until crumbles form. Sprinkle over the filling.

BAKE. Place in the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes or until pears are tender and topping is golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool 20 minutes, serve warm.

Recipe Tips

A few things to keep in mind…

• Butter: Use unsalted butter when making the topping. If all you have on hand is salted butter just be sure to omit the ½ tsp of salt called for in this recipe. 
• Oats: Quick cooking oats can be substituted for old fashioned oats if needed.
• Spices: If you decide not to add the cardamom, you could always substitute nutmeg or ginger instead.

Storing Tips

Make this ahead of time to serve later, however it is recommended that you bake it up the same day. Just add a little extra lemon juice to your coated pears (about 1 tsp.) and store them tightly covered in the fridge. It’s best to wait to add the topping until right before you place it in the oven.  

FREEZE your pear crisp either baked or unbaked. In either case make sure to wrap it tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. 

STORE covered in the fridge for 3-4 days.  If you decide to freeze it unbaked there is no need to thaw it, just add a few minutes of cooking time and check it frequently towards the end to make sure it is done.  If you have frozen your pear crisp after it was baked you can either thaw it in the refrigerator overnight, or out on the counter top until you are ready to warm it up in the microwave or in a 325 degree oven for a few minutes.

For more of our favorite fruit crisps, try:

• Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
• Blueberry Crisp
• Cranberry Apple Crisp
• Apple Crisp Stuffed Apples