Pear and Cranberry Crumble

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Here’s the thing about a trip to the Emergency Room.  In most cases, what you wear stumbling into the ER is what you wear walking out of the ER.

So… what you’re able to throw on as you’re stumbling around your bedroom, trembling like a maniac, halfway doubled over in pain, just trying so so hard to find your favorite scarf… those decisions that you make in those moments, are decisions that you’ll be living with once the ER times are over.  It’s not a time to worry about fashion.  I know this.  Believe me…  I know these things aren’t all that important.  I’m just saying….

I’m just saying…

If you find yourself leaving the ER wearing the cropped lavender pajama pants that your mother handed-you-down, the cardigan you addicentially shrunk in the dryer, and your furry floppy slippers… the only thing that will be on your mind is how grateful you are for IV medicines and doctors that know things.

And the other thing that might be on your mind is… well, the fact that you’re wearing all of the things that you shouldn’t be wearing… in public.  But you’re healthy.  You best walk tall.

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Enough about all that ER mumbo jumbo.

Look at these pears!  We’re going to make them even more delicious than they already are, with love and spices!

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Crumbles are the easiest and the most lovely thing to make this Fall.  They will make your house smell INCREDIBLE!

The secret to an awesome crumble?  Extra crumble!  I add a hearty amount of crumble topping right into the fruit.  Just… yes!

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Baked up.  Sweet living.  Just look at this.  It’s like breakfast made best friends with dessert.

This crumble is sweet and tender.  The cranberries add just the faintest note of tartness… and that beautiful cranberry color.

So simple and so satisfying.

If you can’t make this crumble during this bonkers holiday weekend… please give yourself some time to make it in December.  Dreamboat major.

thanksgiving things

Speaking of the holiday weekend.  It’s almost Thanksgiving here in the states.

I know nothing about turkey… but I can tell you a thing or two about bread, pie and cake.

(from top left to bottom right)

Vegan Pumpkin Walnut Bread

Pear Spice Cake with Walnut Praline Topping

Dad’s Perfect Sweet Potato Pie

Honey Cranberry Cornmeal Quickbread

Pear and Cranberry Crumble

makes 1 8×8-inch dish

Print this Recipe!

For the Filling:

4 ripe but still firm pears (I prefer Bosc or D’Anjou pears)

1 heaping cup fresh cramberries (I meant cranberries)

3 tablespoons raw sugar (granulated or brown sugar will also work)

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

sprinkling of fresh lemon juice

For the Topping:

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup raw sugar (just use more brown sugar if you don’t have raw)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup oats

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature and cut into cubes

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Take out an 8×8-inch baking dish and set aside.

First prepare the filling.  Cut the top stem and bottom butt off of each pear.  The bottom will give you a stable base to peel the pears.  Use a small paring knife to peel the pears.  Slice each pear in half.  Use a small teaspoon to gently run down the length of the inside of the pear, removing the fiberous inside spine, and then scooping out the seeds.  Dice the pears into hearty bite-size chunks and place in baking dish.  Pour cranberries into dish.  Top with sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice.  Toss lightly and set aside.

Next prepare the topping.  Whisk together flour, brown sugar, raw sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and oats.  Add unsalted butter  and incorporate with your fingers.  Work the butter into the topping mixture until it is well incorporated and some butter bits are still the size of oat flakes or small peas.  Add about 1/3 of the topping mixture to the pear and cranberry mixture.  Toss to incorporate.  Place the remaining topping on top of the mixture.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, until bubbly and delicious smelling.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 20 minutes before serving.  This dish is perfect served warm with vanilla ice cream.

Crumble lasts for up to 3 days, covered, in the fridge.

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112 Responses

  1. Just wanted to add that this is the *best* crumble I have ever made (and I have been making them non stop since 7th grade home-ec!! – almost 10 years ago!) Thank you Joy, and whatever happened with the ER visit, hope all is well now. *hugs*

  2. much easier than pie crust and delicious. about 1/2″ thick layer of crumble that’s best just after baking when it’s crunchy.

  3. Can’t get enough of cranberries right now – I know they’re best friends with apples, but maybe they can sneak away just this once with the pears. Can’t wait to try this!

  4. Mixed up the fruit and dry ingredients…kept separate…put together this morning for a fabulous after Thanksgiving…still in the spirit…breakfast…tasted as good as it smelled! A keeper.

  5. Made this yesterday for my family’s Thanksgiving, substituted Earth Balance for the butter to make it vegan, and it was amazing!!

  6. Mine is in the oven right now. I didn’t have pears so I subbed in apples. I hope it tastes good. It’s also gluten-free. Woohoooo

  7. lovely girl! am sending you healthy and happy thoughts! have the crumble in the oven and am guessing i won’t be able to wait the whole 20 minutes to eat the dang thang! thank you! thank you! thank you!

  8. Yummy!! I made this tonight for company. I added an apple, halved the recipe and put it in 4 ramekins. Just what you would hope it would be- quick, easy and yummy fall fruit crisp! Great with some ice cream too:) Thanks Joy!!!

  9. I went crazy with excitement when I saw this last night because I (thought) I had all of the ingredients to make it and set about it without thinking twice. Well, when I got to the butter part I realized I DIDN’T HAVE ANY BUTTER (insert unladylike cursing here). So I made it with coconut oil and it was THE BOMB. Thanks for the continuous inspiration. And congrats on the book! It’s fun to watch people living out their dreams.

  10. We have a cranberry pear black tea at my work that is so delicious, so I can only imagine what this crumble tastes like! Probably the tea personified into a god is a accurate description! Can’t wait to try it :)

  11. …I so hope you are okay Miss Joy. I’ve been keeping you in my thoughts and prayers and am sending you a boat load of positivity your way! Please keep us in the know ’cause we love ya! (((hugs)))

    …And now onto this divineness you call a Pear & Cranberry Crumble. Oh for yum sakes. The 4th photo down made me swoon. I could see myself picking out bits of sugary pear and cranberries before it hit the oven. *now salivating* :o)

    …I hope today finds you feeling better and thank you so much for the recipe!

    …Blessings :o)

  12. Oh, I hope whoever was in the ER is okay! Every time I have ended up in the ER in the last three years (three times – bad health luck!) I have been in hideous attire with unshaven legs. Only to end up in ICU with gorgeous chiseled-looking whippersnapper specialists doing something related to my legs. The shame. Oh, the shame!

    This looks absolutely delicious! ♥

  13. Oh, oh, oh, yummy. I need to make crumble again. After Thanksgiving. I’m in New Zealand visiting my sister – who’s down with morning sickness – and making Thanksgiving dinner all by myself. For the first time ever. Guess what? The turkey is already done and in the fridge, came out perfectly. The part that worries me is… all the last minute stuff! The mashed potatoes, dressing, gravy, sweet potatoes… yeah, I’m stressing out. But let me tell you, that picture of crumble is like an island of peace in my hectic world.

  14. “You best walk tall.”
    LOL.

    I hope you (or whoever) was in the ER is okay! I cut my finger really bad a couple months ago and my mom didn’t think of sending me to the ER until two hours later when I was at the mall with my friend. Good thing I was wearing proper clothing.

  15. That does look like an awesome crumble. But I have to disagree with you that the secret to an awesome crumble is more crumble (topping?). I find the secret to an awesome crumble is a healthy amount of lemon ZEST (not juice) in with the fruit, and some coconut and nuts in the topping (chopped macadamia nuts or almond meal are especially good).

    Happy baking everyone!

  16. Oh no!!! I’m so sorry you were so sick. Hopefully, that will be the end of that for a long while! Good thing there is sugar and spice in the end. Let’s hold on to that fact.

  17. I just made this for my family! I was skeptical of the cranberries because I never have any luck cooking with fresh cranberries- but this was DELICIOUS. The best part was having a bite of crumble with every piece of pear and cranberry. Tasted like Autumnal Heaven :)

  18. totally had an experience like that… one morning, mid-winter, i woke up in severe GI distress (to put it politely) and freezing cold because i was running a fever and severely dehydrated… my boyfriend (now husband!) drove me to the ER… i was wearing old flannel pajama pants, heavy socks, old sneakers, a shirt, a sweatshirt, and my winter coat… i must have looked like i just stumbled in off the streets. but at that moment, all you can think is “thank GOD for ER doctors and IV fluids and good drugs.” haha hope you’re feeling better!

    p.s. that crumble looks delish. totally making it.

  19. Hope you are feeling better! Last Thanksgiving I wound up in the ER with a severely broken ankle. I remember being very relieved that I’d managed to put on decent underwear that morning when they were cutting my jeans off. I was also very sad to lose those jeans. Then I realized I had to wear a cast for several months and would miss most of tights season. There were plenty of things to be concerned about that day, but it’s funny how random fashion related thoughts kept drifting through my head.

  20. Oh, yum! I want to make this, I’m thinking those flavorful cranberries must be a perfect match with the lighter flavored pears!
    I had an ER experience a few years back, ugh, totally had the bent over in pain experience, hope you are feeling heaps better! (you know things are really bad at the ER when as soon as they get you settled into the hospital bed for the night they offer you to jerry-rig the IV so you can take a shower…)

  21. Joy, I hope you weren’t in the ER this weekend! I hope you or whoever was in the ER is back to 100%! :(
    But it seems like you’re well enough to make some amazing fall crumble! seriously, those ingredients are SO perfect. It looks beautiful and tasty :)

  22. Oh my gosh, I am so sorry for whatever happened to you! but I must say, just the other day I was slicing up apples and wondering if I should always bake in cute outfits just in case I hurt myself and have to rush out, instead of doing what I normally do, which is bake when I’ve just rolled out of bed, wearing a t-shirt with holes and stains, no bra, dirty hair and only a 50/50 chance that I’ve brushed my teeth yet that morning.

  23. My husband sliced his hand open a few years ago and my first thought after receiving the phone call? Which knitting project to take to Urgent Care. Natch.

  24. I hope everything is all right with you! Emergency Rooms are never the places you want to be even when you are there because you need to be.

    This crumble looks amazing. I think it will be on my list for the weekend, especially if I can make it along with the 100 other things I want to make on Wednesday/Thursday.

  25. Woof, nothing nice about a trip to the ER…when I drove myself to the hospital for what ended up being emergency appendectomy (I know I know) I had on jeans backwards somehow and one arm thru a cardigan all with pajamas underneath. Hope you’re on the mend, and the crumble looks phenom,

  26. Joy, your crumble looks fabulous, but OMG, are you OKAY??!! What happened??!!
    Well, you wouldn’t be posting and baking if you weren’t better, so I’m hoping that you are!
    Hugs, girl! It’s not fun being in the emergency room at any point, no matter WHAT you’re wearing.
    Hope you’re better!

  27. Geez, Joy. What a horrible feeling. I hope everything is okay with you. {many hugs}

    I hope you had that Pear and Cranberry Crumble to come home to, cause what better thing to come home to!!

    I think I may have to have my hubby come home to that as well. :)

    Thanks for the recipe!

  28. The last time I went to the ER, they had to cut my clothes off and I had nothing but a hospital robe the tie-in-the-back kind) and fuzzy socks to wear home after receiving several bags of IV fluid (I was dehydrated). During the 30 minute drive home, all that fluid decided it needed to come out. Needless to say, you don’t want to be using a gas station potty while wearing a hospital gown and fuzzy socks. Nuff said!!!

  29. Guuuurl, I’m glad you’re alright. Once I went to the ER in my caribou coffee uniform and my hair in two braids.

    Let’s just say there was maybe coffee/chocolate stains on my arms. I bet you looked super-fly in those lavender pants. :)

    And how did you even know that dessert being best friends with breakfast is my most favorite ever?!

  30. I hope you are okay, Joy! Once, I had to go to the ER, and my husband and I weren’t thinking, so we both took the ambulance (which I didn’t even need to do, but that’s another story for another day). We realized, once we were done, that now we’d have to pay for a cab back. :(

  31. I’ve done the middle of the night appendectomy. Hope this was something more minor, and that you’re feeling well again.

    I have cranberries left from an apple-cranberry bake I made a few weeks ago. Can’t wait to try this with pears.

  32. Where on earth did that ER talk come from? Did you have an unusual experience lately, or did you see a crazy lady coming out of the hospital? I’m really into crumbles and crisps right now too. This one saounds lovely! I’ve never added pear to a crumble before.

  33. Delicious! There were some beautiful pears at the grocery store yesterday and I thought, What would I do with those? Now I know… and now I will make my way back to the grocery store! :) Thanks for the wonderful ideas, Joy!

  34. I’ve been wanting to make pear-something for a while now. Thanks for the inspiration. I like to make apple pie with a sprinkle of fresh cranberries – so freaking good. I can only imagine how yummy this crumble is with pear and cranberries. Thanks for sharing:)
    -Eliza

  35. i feel your pain – i once ended up in the ER in college after a ‘mullets on wheels’ party – read: white trash trailer bash…..on roller skates. i smashed my wrist on said roller skates & was wearing cutoffs & a harley davidson t shirt that said: ‘if you can read this, the b*tch fell off”…..yikes! hope everything is OK with you :)

  36. Oh my goodness. I hope everything is alright and you’re doing ok. Being bend over in pain sounds awful, but I’ve had that feeling before, but never enough to go to the ER. On the plus side, I don’t think people pay attention to your wardrobe, most people in the waiting area look at the guy with the screwdriver in his foot (greusome example, I know, sorry). But atleast you have this pear crumble to make you feel better :)

  37. Way to throw a wrench in my plans! I was set on making sweet potato pie, but this looks absolutely irresistible. What’s that you say? Make both? Problem solved!

    Boy, do I hate a trip to the emergency room. So sorry for whatever sent you there, and I hope you’ve fully recovered.

  38. I ALWAYS double the crumble part of any crumble recipe – that is the best part!! Hope you are feeling better – and I hear you on the ER ensemble. I’ve made the trek up Sacramento St. in SF in some interesting outfits. Thankfully all at some unearthly hour of the morning. Prayers for a speedy recovery!

  39. I’m sorry to hear about you ER trip and the unfortunate choice of clothing but I’m thankful youre feeling better and that you shared this dish with us. I wouldn’t have thought to have it for breakfast but why not?? It’s got fruit! That must make it healthy, nevermind all the sugar!

  40. Girl, I think an emeregency room visit is the most opportune time to wear whatever the heck you want. Seriously. You could wear a giant red wig and people would go with it…ok, maybe not. But still. Own it. Also, I’m jealous of everything crumble-oriented. French people don’t have brown sugar and I kind of feel like it’s ruining my life. I think you’d understand that. Nonthless, Thanksgiving is happening here, French style. It kind of looks like rotisserie chicken and brownies and maybe rolls. Because I don’t know anything about turkey, either.

    1. Joy made brown sugar last fall I think! Its super easy! Just while sugar and molasses. Hope that can help you! life without Brown sugar = not quite right.

      1. Thank you, Marie! The only problem is that (wait for it…) I can’t find molasses in France either! QUOI?! Apparently, it exists (although it has a slightly stronger flavor), but I live in a pretty rural place and can’t seem to get my hands on any. I will do the happy dance when I find it. That, or I’m flying it in. I wonder if I’m allowed to bring it back to France from the states? ‘Cause being a International food smuggler would be pretty fly, too.

        1. Hi Katie, I’ve found molasses in health food stores in the south of France, not quite the rural area you are in, but maybe this will help – if there IS a health food store near you. And I’ve had no problem bringing food into France from overseas, so International Food Smuggler could also be a fun option, as you say (smile!). Good luck – and happy Thanksgiving!

  41. I love adding cranberries to a crumble, they add such a great tartness and balance the sweetness of the topping so well.

    I hope you’re feeling better now.

  42. Oh dear! Sorry you weren’t feeling well :(

    Take care of yourself! You could always have the cat guest blog for you so you can have some down time! We won’t mind :)

    Sending love and prayers,
    Anna

  43. Oh dear! Sorry to hear that you were so sick you had to go to the ER! That is never any fun.But, I am immensely glad that you are well enough to blog!

    By the way, this crumble looks delightful! Crisps & crumbles are my favorite low-fuss desert to make and I have never made one with this combination for the inside. Yum!

  44. Oh my…I knew that your podcast was delayed due to you being sick, but I had no idea it was emergency room bad! Glad to see you’re back on your feet!

    This crumble looks delicious – I saw it on twitter earlier and have been anxiously awaiting the recipe :)

  45. I’m glad you survived your ER experience! I’ve avoided being a patient in one thankfully (so far), although I worked in emergency when I was a nurse, eye opener that’s for sure. And to be honest, your ER outfit sounded kind of cute ;)

    Pretty looking crumble, I really feel like making one now.

  46. OH my goodness, I’m glad everything is okay (despite the unfortunate fashion situation you found yourself in, which I’m sure you could’ve passed off as a totally deliberate artistic, um, choice.)

    I’m so sorry for your scare :( Hope everything is totally resolved.

  47. Looks great! I made your Dad’s sweet potato pie today for the first time, and it was a hit! Thanks for sharing your love of food and life with us! Love the blog!

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