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Walnut Pear Apple Crisp

Walnut pear apple crisp with a golden walnut-studded oat crumble over bubbling apple and pear. Built with cinnamon-ginger filling thickened by cornstarch for a tender, sliceable bake.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
resting 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 430
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Fruit filling
  • 3 apples peeled and sliced
  • 3 pears peeled and sliced
  • 0.3333333333 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar packed
  • 1.5 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.25 tsp ginger
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
Walnut crumble topping
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 0.75 cup all-purpose flour
  • 0.75 cup brown sugar packed
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.25 tsp salt
  • 1 cup walnuts roughly chopped
  • 0.75 cup unsalted butter cold, cubed

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Prep the oven and baking dish
  1. Preheat the oven to 375F and grease a 9x13 baking dish. The dish should look lightly coated so the crumble lifts out easily.
Make the fruit filling
  1. Toss apple and pear slices with granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cornstarch, and lemon juice, then spread the fruit in the baking dish. Mix until every slice looks evenly coated and the cornstarch is no longer dry.
Assemble the walnut crumble
  1. Combine rolled oats, all-purpose flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and chopped walnuts, then cut in cold unsalted butter until chunky clumps form. Stop when you can squeeze the mixture and it holds together in rough craggy bits.
  2. Scatter the crumble over the fruit in an even layer. Cover most of the surface so the topping turns deeply golden during baking.
Bake and rest
  1. Bake for 40-45 minutes at 375F until the top is deeply golden and the fruit is bubbling. Look for bubbling syrup around the edges and crisped crumble peaks.
  2. Rest for 10 minutes before serving. The filling should thicken slightly so slices hold together.

Notes

For best clumps, keep the unsalted butter cold and cut it in just until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with chunky bits. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator up to 4 days; rewarm at 325F until the crumble is crisp again. Freezing is not recommended because the fruit texture can soften after thawing. For a lower-sugar option, use a sugar substitute for the granulated sugar and brown sugar measures while keeping the cornstarch the same to maintain thickening.