I discovered this recipe with my nieces and nephews because my parents have a pear tree outside their house and we are always looking for ways to use them up. My nephews love going “fruit-picking” so one day, they helped me peel the pears they picked (off the ground) and we came up with this delicious concoction.

Bring a stool up next to the counter and have your nieces and nephews help measure all of the dry ingredients and scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean (which they love to do) with a dull butter knife. You can do the rest of the scraping with a sharper knife. They can also mush the dry topping ingredients and butter together with their hands. If you want to go the extra mile, make whipped cream from scratch with a Kitchen Aid or hand mixer – your nieces and nephews will get a kick out of watching the cream “puff up”! Bon Appetit and Happy Holidays!

Vanilla Bean Pear Crisp with Whipped Cream

Topping
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Filling
3 pounds firm Anjou pears, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 pint of heavy whipping cream

Preheat oven to 350°F.

To prepare topping: Combine oats, brown sugar, flour, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl. Using a small sharp knife, scrape seeds from vanilla bean into oats and brown sugar mixture. Fold in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal.

To prepare filling: Combine pears, maple syrup, and lemon juice in a large bowl and mix well. Transfer the mixture to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle the topping over the pears.

Bake until the pears are tender and the topping is golden, 45 to 50 minutes. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before serving with freshly made whipped cream (or vanilla ice cream).

Active time: 25 minutes Total time: 1 ¼ hours
Makes 8-10 servings