Easy Pear Crisp {VIDEO}

It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that it’s already December. Where did this year go? While the season of cold weather is not my personal favorite, the fact that more time is spent indoors does help me spend time doing one of the things I love most – baking.

My family loves crisp for dessert. In fact, I think any meal that has oatmeal in the ingredient list would win over my 4-year-old son. So, when thinking of a way to celebrate National Pear Month (which happens every December) on the blog, I was immediately drawn to making a pear crisp.

Apples are typically my go-to fruit for a crisp, but I’m so glad that the occasion of National Pear Month led me to try pears in the classic dessert. Pears have such an array of different flavors and textures that trying a different variety could lead to an entirely different flavor for your finished crisp. Plus, pears are naturally sweet and need little added sugar to transform them into a rich and delicious dessert.

This pear crisp recipe is incredibly simple to make, which means it will be ideal for any of your upcoming holiday get-togethers. Simply skin and chop pears, add lemon juice, maple syrup and spices and then finish with a rich topping made by combining old-fashioned oats, brown sugar, more spices, salt, flour and melted butter. You can bake it in an 8×8 baking dish, or individual ramekins, which is what I opted to do.

I used Bartlett pears in this particular crisp recipe, but also recommend using d’Anjou (green or red varieties), Bosc, or Concorde pears if you are able to find them. Bosc has a sweet-spicy flavor that could really take this recipe up a notch! For those of you unfamiliar with Bartlett pears, look for the classic bell-shaped pear at your grocery store. Bartlett pears turn from green to yellow when ripe, making it easy to know when they are ready to be made into this crisp.

Here’s the video to show you all the steps to put this pear crisp together: