Pear Cranberry and Gingersnap Crumble

Why don't you hop on the dessert train like I did? I'll tell you why might want to rethink this little engine that could: my pants are getting irritatingly tight. I have one more dessert post for the month and then I'm going to cool it for a little. I guess the problem isn't that I make these desserts, it's that I eat them...and the leftovers...again and again. Dear lord, where did I put my restraint? Perhaps in my tight pants.


This recipe is a winner and I couldn't say no to the use of gingersnaps. I had some leftover from my cheesecake recipe. I used the same excuse for my strawberry shortcake recipe which you will see shortly (get it?!). I bought instant biscuit mix the other day and had quite a bit left over. Don't bother buying instant biscuit mix, by the way. I can't imagine it would save you any time. Unfortunately for me, the back of the box included a number of gut-busting recipes and I just couldn't help myself. 


Oh right, we're here to talk about ginger, pear and something crumble.  Here's the scoop:


From: http://smittenkitchen.com


Crumble

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 T (37 grams) packed dark or light brown sugar
1 cup gingersnap crumbs (about 16 store bought cookies)
1/8 t ground ginger
1/8 t table salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Filling
4 to 5 large ripe pears (I used Anjou, suggested in the original recipe) peeled, halved, cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
1 T lemon juice
1/2 t finely grated lemon zest
1/2 t vanilla extract
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 T cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Stir together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, gingersnap crumbs, ginger and salt. Stir in the melted butter until large crumbs form.

In a 9 inch baking dish, mix the pears, cranberries, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk the sugar and cornstarch together then toss it with the fruit mixture in the pan. 

Sprinkle the gingersnap crumble over the fruit. Set the crumble on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake it for about 45 minutes, until the crumble is a shade darker and you see juices bubbling through the crumbs. Serve with whipping or ice cream.