Pear Cranberry Ginger Crisp (GF)

This Pear Cranberry Ginger Crisp is a mix of sweet, tart, and little spicy with a buttery shortbread cookie crumble! This festive holiday dessert is gluten-free and doubles easily.

I have been, no joke, thinking of holiday cookies for pretty much the entire month of December (and November and October, because planning and testing). I even did a roundup of my 16 All-Time Favorite Holiday Cookies! And as much as I LOVE cookies…I’m sorta done with them for the year. Is that ok? Instead, I’m going to share with you some other swoon-worthy, still totally holiday-relevant desserts.

Like this pear cranberry ginger crisp. I’ve said it before, but crisps are my favorite. Especially with ice cream, and I won’t complain about caramel sauce either. Apple tends to be my fave, but this pear cranberry ginger crisp is a serious contender for 1st place crisp winner in my book. It is SO good. 

First, let’s talk filling. Pears and cranberries are the stars of this crisp, and they get good and coated with some brown sugar, a bit of cornstarch, lots of warm spices, and candied ginger. The pears are smooth and sweet – I used one Bartlett and one Bosc and it was perfect. Bartlett pears break down more than Bosc, so you have some more tender pears and some slices that hold their shape a bit better. It gives the crisp a delicious texture.

I could go on and on about how much I love the tartness of cranberries, and in this crisp they provide the perfect contrast to the sweetness from the pears, sugar, and crumble topping. The crumble topping is special: it’s made with cookies! Walker’s Gluten-Free Ginger Lemon Shortbread Cookies, to be exact.

The Walker’s Shortbread Cookies are crisp, crumbly, and totally delicious – I love how versatile these cookies can be! They would also make a delicious crust for some cookie bars. The ginger lemon flavor enhances the ginger in the filling even more, but not in an overpowering kind of way – it’s a more soft and smooth ginger flavor.

I crushed them lightly – you want some to be fine crumbs, but I also left a few bigger cookie chunks to add texture to the topping. A little almond flour, brown sugar, and butter are all that’s needed to finish the crumble off. In the oven, everything gets bubbly and caramelized and smelling like heaven – just the way I like it.

I made a small crumble. I know it isn’t very holiday friendly, but my roommate had left already when I made this and you KNOW how I am with crumbles…a whole big one could not be safely left alone with me. Thankfully, crumbles are easy to scale up and it can be doubled or quadrupled, depending on the size of the pan and how many folks you need to feed.

This Pear Cranberry Ginger Crisp is best served with ice cream, caramel sauce, and a whole lot of love! Enjoy :)

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5 from 1 vote

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Pear Cranberry Ginger Crisp

Course Dessert

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Servings 3 servings

Author Rachel Conners

Ingredients

• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons candied ginger diced
• 2 firm pears peeled, cored, & sliced
• 1 cup fresh cranberries

For the crumble

• ¼ cup almond flour
• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• 6 Walker’s Ginger Lemon Shortbread Cookies crushed
• ¼ cup butter melted

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 5” cast iron skillet or two small ramekins.
2. In a bowl, whisk together brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Add the pears and candied ginger and toss to coat completely. Put the pear mixture into the prepared pan(s).
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, crushed cookies, ground ginger, and melted butter. Spread evenly over pear filling.
4. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the pears are tender and the crumble is golden brown. Let cool slightly, serve warm with ice cream.

Recipe Notes

I used a small 5" cast iron skillet, but you could double the recipe to fill an 8x8" pan or quadruple the recipe to fill a 9x13" pan if you're feeding a crowd. Remember to adjust the baking time accordingly.

This post is sponsored by Walker’s Shortbread. As always, all opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Bakerita!