I’m not sure of CSAs are a thing in other places than New York. Do any of you know what a CSA is? Well, if not, lemme explain: It’s essentially this very cool thing where you sign up to get a weekly share of fruits & veggies from a local farm. Every week I mosey to a spot a few blocks away and pick up whichever is local/in season. It’s been really fun but also challenging to make sure I never waste anything. (I am sorry to say the concord grapes never really got used- those dang seeds threw me for a loop!)
Well as you can imagine, it’s pear season, and while we’ve been loving eating them fresh, this caramel pear crisp may be the most fabulous use of pears I’ve ever tasted. The juicy pears are tossed with lemon juice & cinnamon and then my favorite Salted Caramel Sauce is folded in. A crumb topping gets sprinkled on top, and the most wonderful bubbly juiciness happens in the oven. Add a little vanilla ice cream on top and you can imagine how good this is, can’t you?
I have to say that simple fruit desserts like this are some of my absolute favorite. Fruit gets tossed into a baking dish with some sugar and spice, a quick topping gets added and just like that you have an impressive dessert in the making. Now don’t get me wrong, I love rolling out pie crust, crimping edges, and getting all fancy, but sometimes you just want simple you know? On this particularly lazy day, I needed to use these pears fast, and this was just the way to do it.
This recipe does call for making a batch of caramel sauce, which to me is one of my easier kitchen tasks, but if you don’t want to brave it you could use store bought. (But I really think you should try making homemade caramel- it’s just so satisfying and the results are to die for!)
I have a feeling there will be many more apples and pears in my near CSA future. Feel free to pass on your favorite recipes in the comments!
- About 7 medium sized pears, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 batch Salted Caramel Sauce
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 6 tablespoons of butter, melted
- Toss the pears with the lemon juice and ground cinnamon. When the caramel sauce has cooled slightly, add about a half cup to the pears and toss to combine.
- Stir the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter together with a fork until a crumbly topping forms. Sprinkle the topping over the pears.
- Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes or until the filling is bubbly and the crumble is golden.
- Drizzle with some of the remaining caramel sauce and use the rest to serve along with vanilla ice cream of whipped cream.
Tori says
This looks completely fab! Yay for yummy fall foods that we can bury in caramel!
Medeja says
This crisp looks so tempting! Especially with some ice cream :)
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
We have CSAs here in Montreal (and pretty much every city in Canada) too but I’m not a part of it. I live really close to the market here which is open full time but if I didn’t live so close I would 100% sign up! It’s such a fabulous way to get a fun delivery of fresh produce :) I haven’t been baking with pears yet this fall and something caramel like this sounds perfect! So delicious!
Rachel @ Bakerita says
I really should join my local CSA – we have such gorgeous produce in Washington! And if I got pears so I could make this…all the better! I always forget about pears because I love apples so much but this crisp looks to die for, especially with ice cream on top :)
Avra says
Bake at 350?
Audra says
Yes! Thanks for pointing out that I missed that- I will udpate!
Avra says
Great! Oh–and what size pan did you use? (I thought perhaps for a recipe like this pan size won’t affect the baking time as much as with something like a cake, but I’m no expert, so I’d like to know just to be sure!)
Audra says
Sorry I will update that too! I used a 9 inch pie dish.
Jen says
Audra, regarding Concord grapes: if you find yourself in the same situation next year, make and can grape jelly! That’s what I did this year when I realized the grapes growing on our property were Concords, and wanted to put them to use before the bees got them all!
I used the recipe in The Joy of Cooking and it turned out beautifully. It’s a bit of work, admittedly, but the flavor is just outstanding.
Audra says
Thanks so much! I have to try that next time!
Jan Giesige says
I found a wonderful CSA in my new locale in Atlanta. Googled it. Hope you find a great one too!