Mother’s Day Dessert Easy Enough For A Princess To Make

Here's a mother's day dessert fit for a queen and easy enough for the princess to make. Fresh fruit gets tricky this time of year, but the pears have been consistently fresh and available at most local markets.  This Pear Crisp comes straight from Elyce Jacobson's kitchen of In Good Taste Catering.  When she prepares it, she only uses organic ingredients and she replaces the regular sugars with the all natural versions listed in the recipe.  Elyce substitutes these sugars because they are less refined and healthier options.  She feels that it is not necessary to sacrifice taste in order to turn your ordinary recipes into more healthful ones.
In Good Taste, LLC.(914) 589-5856
Pear Crisp
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Recipe By: In Good Taste
Serving Size: 8

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sucanat (or granulated sugar)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup rapadura (or brown sugar)
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 stick butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
6 medium bosc pears, peeled, cored, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325F.  Butter an 8x8x2" baking pan.

Combine sucanat, flour, rapadura, old-fashioned oats & ground cinnamon in a large bowl. 
Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. 

Place sliced pears in a large bowl.  Sprinkle pears with 1/2 cup crumb mixture & dried cranberries. Toss to combine.  Transfer pears to prepared pan.

Mix orange juice, maple syrup & vanilla extract in small bowl.  Pour over pears. Add chopped pecans to remaining crumb mixture and sprinkle over pears.  Bake until juices bubble and topping is dry, about 40 minutes. 

Serve crisp warm with vanilla ice cream if desired.