Apple & Pear Crisp... and what REALLY goes on when I shoot photos

A fruit crisp is something I make pretty frequently.  They are so flexible, you can use pretty much any fruit imaginable and toppings can include nuts, coconut, grains or even more fruit.  Most of the time, my crisps are on the healthier side, low in sugar, and added 'healthy' ingredients in the topping, whether it be wheat germ or flax, olive oil instead of butter or maple syrup instead of sugar.  This crisp, though,  is decadent... there is no mistaking it for something that I can get away eating for breakfast without lots of some guilt.  It's probably it's sweetness and thick layer of crumble that keeps driving hubby back to the pan for more and more, that or the pecans!

My Apple & Pear Crisp

A mixture of apples & pears (I used Gravensteins and Bartlett), peeled, cored and sliced to 1/2 fill a 9 x 13 inch baking pan or shallow casserole (I prefer Pyrex).  For me, this was about 6 pears and 6 apples.

3/4 cup white sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tbsp all-purpose flour

pinch of salt

Topping:

1 cup butter, melted (I used salted this time, if using unsalted, add another pinch of salt to the topping)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole grain spelt flour (you could use all spelt or all wheat flour, depending on your preference)

2 cups rolled oats (I used quick oats)

2 cups dark brown sugar (very lightly packed)

1 cup pecans, roughly chopped (can toast prior, but I skipped that since they would be in the oven for so long)

In the baking pan, toss the apples and pears with the sugar, spices, salt and flour.  Spread evenly over the bottom of the pan and drizzle a tbsp or two of the melted butter that will be used for the topping and drizzle it over top.  

To make the topping, simply mix all ingredients (using your hand works best) in a large bowl until crumbly.  Scatter evenly over the top of the fruit and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 40 minutes, or until bubbly and browned.  

Enjoy alone, with some vanilla ice cream or take it over the top and drizzle it with some caramel sauce and whipped cream.

Normally, I shoot any photos for the blog when our little one is napping.  Nap time however, is something I can't totally count on any more, and with the amount of natural light decreasing day by day, I'm learning how to balance a haphazard photo set up and a curious toddler.  It was a dreary rainy day when I baked this, so finding light anywhere was a challenge... so I ended up on the kitchen floor :)  Normally she isn't that interested in what I am doing, with fear that I might *gasp* ask her to try something, but today was different... she spotted ice cream.  She was very insistent, hanging over the foam board while I snapped a few shots.  I decided to let her go for it, which as you can see took her by surprise at first.  How this story ends is that I laid down on the floor as well and chowed on the crisp while she took care of the ice cream... good times :)