Pear, Cranberry Crumble

I made this for thanksgiving dinner dessert and it was devoured. It stimulates your tastebuds with sweet and tart in every bite. I followed the sweetener quantity from the original recipe, and I think the amount of honey in the pear combination could be reduced. I think the next time I made it I will try using only 3 tablespoons of honey.



INGREDIENTS:
Pear cranberry (or apple) filling:
4 large Organic Bartlett pears or Granny Smith apples (about 2 pounds) cut into bite-sized pieces (you can choose to peel them, but it makes the recipe a lot more work and when I made it with pears I didn't even notice the peel. Plus the peel adds more nutrients)
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
⅓ cup raw honey
2 tablespoons arrowroot or tapioca starch
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Top with one of the Toppings listed Below:

Gluten-free walnut, oat and almond meal topping
1 cup gluten free old-fashioned oats
½ cup almond meal or almond flour
½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
⅓ cup coconut sugar
¼ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
4 tablespoons kerry gold butter
3 tablespoons plain yogurt (Greek or Coconut)

Grain-free walnut, almond meal crumble topping
1 cup (96g) blanched almond flour
2 tablespoons coconut flour
¼ cup coconut sugar
6 tablespoons coconut oil solid
½ cup pecans chopped
½ cup walnuts chopped
1/2 cup shredded coconut (optional)


INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9 by 9-inch baking dish with coconut oil to prevent sticking and make clean up easier. Mix together the chopped pears (or apples), cranberries, honey, arrowroot or tapioca starch, lemon juice, ginger and cinnamon.

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).

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the oats, almond meal, walnuts or pecans, coconut sugar and salt. Mix in the yogurt and browned butter (or melted butter). Stir until all of the flour is incorporated and the mixture is moistened throughout.

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 for 55 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling around the edges, the top is turning lightly golden and most of the cranberries have burst. Let the crisp rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream or coconut whip cream.

Adapted from this recipe: cookieandkate.com