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Gluten-Free Pear Cranberry Crisp

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4.8 from 21 reviews

Honey-sweetened pears and cranberries with a gluten-free oat and almond meal topping. Feel free to substitute apples for the pears if you prefer. This simple dessert is perfect for holidays or any cold day, really!

Gluten-free pear cranberry crisp
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Ingredients

Pear cranberry (or apple) filling

Gluten-free walnut, oat and almond meal topping

Don’t forget the vanilla ice cream!

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a 9 by 9-inch baking dish, mix together the pears (or apples), cranberries, honey, arrowroot or cornstarch, lemon juice, ginger and cinnamon.
  2. Optional: brown the butter for a more complex flavor. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Swirl the pan by the handle often so the butter doesn’t splatter. Continue to heat the butter, swirling frequently, until you see little brown flecks in the bottom of the pan (this will take about three minutes).
  3. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the oats, almond meal or flour, walnuts, brown sugar and salt. Mix in the Greek yogurt and browned butter (or melted butter). Stir until all of the flour is incorporated and the mixture is moistened throughout.
  4. Dollop spoonfuls of the oat mixture over the filling and use your fingers to break up the mixture until it is evenly distributed (no need to pack it down). Bake until the filling is bubbling around the edges, the top is turning lightly golden and most of the cranberries have burst, 40 to 55 minutes. Let the crisp rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream, I insist.

Notes

Adapted from Minimalist Baker’s gluten-free strawberry nectarine crisp and my strawberry rhubarb crisp.

Make it nut free: Omit the walnuts and use 3/4 cup whole wheat flour and 3/4 cup oats instead of the almond meal and oats specified above. It will no longer be gluten free. If you want to keep it gluten free, I suspect that you could replace the almond meal with oat flour or more oats (haven’t tried that, please comment if you do!).

Make it dairy free/vegan: I believe you could use melted coconut oil in place of the browned butter/yogurt (use 4 tablespoons coconut oil and add up to 3 more, until the topping mixture is moistened throughout) and maple syrup instead of the honey. I haven’t tried it, though.

What’s arrowroot starch? Arrowroot starch is a great thickener to use in place of corn starch, which is often genetically modified. It’s gluten free, too. Look for it in the baking section of well-stocked grocery stores or buy it online.

▸ Nutrition Information

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