Crispin Pears

Sometimes my sous chef calls things by weird names. He likes to nickname pretty much everything and for the past few weeks he's been referring to Christmas as Crispin. Whatevs.

That name turns out to be perfect for a dessert I made last night. The dessert is literally: crisp... in... pears. It's ridiculously easy to make but the rich flavor of the pear makes it taste both homey and luxurious. Another bonus is that it doesn't dirty a million dishes and it's easy to make just one serving so you don't end up gorging on the extras or leftovers. We had it for dessert but it would also make a great breakfast or brunch treat for a cold weather day.

Serves 2 (easy to double or triple)

- 1 ripe Bartlett or Anjou pear peeled and sliced in half down the middle
- 1/4 cup gluten free oats
- 2 Tbsp chopped roasted pecans
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2-3 Tbsp brown sugar
- small pinch kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1 Tbsp warm water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together oats, pecans, butter, vanilla, sugar and salt and set aside.

Once your pears are peeled and cut in half, use a melon baller or strawberry huller to remove the seeds
and carve out a nice sized nook for your crisp ingredients to nestle in.

Cut a small disc of pear off the back of the pear so it can lie flat on your cookie sheet without wobbling. Set the pear halves on a cookie sheet with the hollowed out core areas facing up. Mix honey and warm water and stir to thin out the honey a bit. Brush this mixture liberally all over the pear with a pastry brush. Spoon crisp mixture into the hole in the pear and mound it up so you have a good amount of crisp in/on each pear half.

Bake for 25-35 minutes or until pear is turning just golden at the edges and the crisp is a nice, dark golden brown. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes then serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Adapted from Acquired Taste

PS After all my whining, I got a new camera! I used Crispin money to get myself a Canon Rebel XS. Now I just have to learn how to work the sucker!