Pear Crisp with a Pecan Streusel

5 from 10 votes

This pear crisp is filled with big chunks of tender Bartlett pears and then topped with cinnamony pecan crisp. It's absolutely delicious.

Prep Time25

Cook Time45

Total Time1 10

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 442kcal

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the pecans on a sheet pan in a single layer and toast for 7-10 minutes until the pecans are slightly browned. Remove the pecans from the oven, allow them to cool, and then coarsely chop.
Place the flour, both sugars, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt in a medium-sized bowl and whisk to combine. Mix in the chopped pecans . Cut the butter into small cubes, add it to the dry ingredients, and rub the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Store the crisp in the refrigerator until ready to add to the pears

Butter a 9 x 9-inch baking dish. If you've made the toasted nuts in advance preheat the oven to 350°F.
Peel the pears, cut them in half from top to bottom, and use a teaspoon to remove the core. Cut the pears into 1-1/2 inch chunks. Place the cut pears into a large mixing bowl. Whisk together the sugar and the tapioca flour.
Sprinkle the pears with lemon and toss gently to coat the pears. Sprinkle the sugar-tapioca mixture over the pears and gently stir with a large spoon to mix in the sugar and tapioca. Allow the pears to sit for 5 minutes.

Pour the pears into the prepared baking dish. Cover the top evenly with the crisp topping by pressing it together into large clumps and then breaking it into smaller pieces as it is sprinkled over the top. Bake the pear crisp for 30-35 minutes until the pear juices are bubbling all the way around the edges of the baking dish.
Remove the pear crisp from the oven. Allow it to cool for 15 minutes and then serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. The crisp can sit at room temperature for one day if it is not too warm. After that it should be refrigerated.

To store the crisp in the refrigerator let it cool completely before covering it tightly with plastic wrap or foil. The crumble is good in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Reheat the refrigerated crisp in a 350°F (180°C) oven for 15-20 minutes uncovered.

If tapioca flour is not available cornstarch can be substituted. For this recipe use 2 teaspoons of cornstarch instead.

The crisp topping can be made up to 30 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.