This super-simple gluten free pear crisp recipe is made with rolled oats, pecans, and maple syrup. It's naturally gluten-free and kissed with zingy fresh ginger and juicy blackberries. Adapted from Gluten-Free for Good by Samantha Seneviratne.
This gluten free pear crisp recipe comes from a beautiful new book by one of my favorite authors Sam Seneviratne. Sam wrote and styled The New Sugar and Spice, from whence came these delectable flans. She also contributes recipes to The New York Times (which are crazy good and which Sarah and I have had the pleasure of styling!) Her new book Gluten-Free for Good: Simple, Wholesome Recipes Made from Scratch is a total gem.
But first, a wee rant.
Amazon reviewers are the worst:
When I was doing research for my book proposal, I came upon a lovely looking book on Amazon which had a poor rating. The book came from the UK, thus it only had a handful of reviews, one of them with only one star. As I read the review, it became clear that the reviewer had made an error that he then blamed on the cookbook author. "A cake recipe called for polenta, but the polenta was listed with the dry ingredients, which was wrong. I used the pre-cooked polenta in a tube. The cake batter was too wet and never baked - it was disgusting. This book stinks."
I wanted to grab that reviewer by his ignorant shoulders and scream "Polenta IS a dry ingredient, you moron! Only an idiot would buy precooked polenta in a tube to put in a cake when it was clearly listed as a dry ingredient. The book is fine - you're the one who stinks!" The fact that the review remained up, tarnishing the rating of the book, seemed a gross injustice.
I realized then that, should I ever be fortunate enough to publish my own book, I'd need to toughen up and be ready for annoying Amazon reviews (and take up kickboxing to get out my aggression, clearly).
"Don't read the Amazon reviews," more than one cookbook author warned me. But did I listen? I was thrilled to get my first positive reviews, calling Alternative Baker "My Baking Bible," "utterly gorgeous" and full of "jaw-dropping photographs, meticulously crafted recipes, easy-to-follow instructions, and tasty results." I was thrilled! Maybe I would manage to dodge psycho reviewers after all.
Alas, I was as naive as an inexperienced baker buying polenta for the first time. The first annoying review came in the other day, complete with 3 stars. "I guess there wasn't enough info when I ordered this. It seems every recipe I have looked at uses dairy. It's just Gluten free. Bummer, I will have to give it away." I found this incredibly frustrating because 1) there are several recipes in the book that are dairy-free, including 4 that are completely vegan, and vegan crust options for both the pie and tart sections that make it easy to convert those recipes to being dairy-free, and 2) nowhere does the book claim to be dairy-free, so there was no need for the reviewer to slam my book for their own mistake in purchasing a book that didn't meet their dietary needs.
I took some deep breaths, visualized floating down a quiet stream with the breeze in my hair and no pesky vegans, then wrote a (hopefully) calm and kind note back to the reviewer letting them know about the dairy-free recipes in the book, and explaining my rationale for including dairy in the recipes. Since the book already asks for 14 different flours, and many recipes are made with highly seasonal fruit, I wanted to keep the other ingredients as accessible and familiar as possible. I was also careful to keep plenty of nut-free options in the book, since many GF baking books use a lot of almond flour that can be difficult to substitute out for allergies, and I even included some naturally-sweetened recipes.
Luckily, all was not lost. Some kind soul also saw the reviewer's rating as unfair, and replied, "Like you I'm gluten and dairy free so I know it's hard to find recipe books that accommodate that. I haven't seen this particular book but from the cover and description it simply says 'gluten free' and makes no claims to be dairy free so I think your three star review is perhaps a little unfair? Most gluten free recipe books (unless they state otherwise) will use dairy, you just need to look out for that."
Boom.
Gluten Free for Good
Speaking of books that are gluten-free but full of (some) delicious dairy, I'm currently obsessed with Gluten-Free for Good by Samantha Seneviratne. Like me, Sam isn't 100% gluten-free, but her love of cooking and baking for everyone she knows drove her to rock some deliriously good GF recipes. The book is filled with stunning photos and streamlined, everyday fare, from breakfast through to dessert, all loaded with vibrant colors and flavors. Sam's baking recipes all use alternative grains and flours rather than relying on pre-fab baking mixes, and most recipes are free from gums as well, using psyllium powder instead. The book is mostly vegetarian, and it even has some dairy-free and vegan options. Paging through the book makes we want to run to the kitchen and cook every time I open it up. Which is a lot.
Elevated Gluten Free Pear Crisp
Sam's gluten free pear crisp exemplifies the recipes in GF for Good, with easy-to-source ingredients, a seasonal fruit base, streamlined instructions, and clean flavors. I added blackberries this time around, but the recipe is just as good without (and I bet pomegranate, cranberries, or poached quince could be tasty, as well). A dose of fresh ginger adds zing and acidity to the filling – just pears, maple syrup, and a little cornstarch.
The gluten free crisp topping is simply oats, nuts, brown sugar, butter, and just the right level of salt, and it bakes up into a topping that reminds me a bit of tender, clustery granola. In fact, this crisp works as well for breakfast with plain yogurt as it does for dessert with ice cream. I'm especially glad to have this recipe in my arsenal for when I don't have a pantry full of alternative flours at hand.
I've made this crisp twice, and Sam's hazelnut flour scones (they're super addictive), and I have a ton of other recipes bookmarked, including:
- Sweet Potato Spinach Hash
- A Simple Loaf of Bread
- perfect looking Cinnamon Buns
- Smoked Gouda Grits with Eggs and Arugula
- Creamy Breakfast Quinoa with Roasted Strawberries
- Roasted Kabocha Squash Soup with Gomasio
- Red Quinoa and Brussels Sprout Salad
- Rosemary Amaranth Crisps
and loads more. Gluten-Free for Good gets five stars from this reviewer!
More gluten free fruit crisp recipes:
- Vegan Gluten Free Apple Crisp
- Vegan Gluten Free Rhubarb Crisp
- Paleo Apple Criso
- Gluten Free Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble
- Gluten Free Apple Crumble
- Gluten Free Apricot Pie with Crumble Crust
- Find more gluten free fruit crisp recipes in my book Alternative Baker!
More pear dessert recipes:
- gluten-free pear custard tart + mulled wine poached pears
- chocolate crusted chèvre cheesecake with earl grey poached pears & pomegranate {gluten-free}
- gluten-free pear cake with chai spices
- Roasted Pears with Brown Sugar Crumble
- Cranberry-Pear Upside-Down Gingerbread
*Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this gluten free pear crisp, I’d love to see. Tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.*
Blackberry, Pear & Ginger Crisp {gluten-free}
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
Filling:
- 1 ¾ pounds firm-ripe pears (such as Bartlett; about 4 medium)
- 12 ounces ripe blackberries, halved if large
- ¼ cup (60 ml) maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
- 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
Topping:
- 1 cup (90 g) old-fashioned rolled oats (GF if needed)
- ¾ cup (80 g) chopped pecans
- ¼ cup packed (55 g) light or dark brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon fine sea or kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, softened
- ice cream, for serving
Instructions
- Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350ºF.
- In a large bowl, toss together the pears, blackberries, maple syrup, ginger, and cornstarch until well-combined. Scrape into an 8x8” pan or the equivalent.
- In another large bowl, combine the oats, pecans, brown sugar, salt, and butter, rubbing the butter with your fingers until the mixture forms large clumps. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit. Bake the crisp until the top is deeply golden and the fruit is bubbling, 35-45 minutes. Let cool slightly, then serve warm, with a scoop of ice cream if you like.
Notes
Nutrition
Fiona says
When huckleberries and pears are in season, I love combining them in a crisp.
Laura | Tutti Dolci says
Crisp is my favorite because leftovers always become breakfast ;). This is gorgeous!
Leslie says
First, crisps of any kind are a big favorite.
Second, I was browsing Amazon the other day and, loving your blog, checked out your book. I, too, noted the review regarding dairy. My first thought was 'what does that have to do with anything, you silly person?' Wish my second thought had been to comment, but I am glad someone else did. Your book looks great and I am looking forward to cooking with it!
Susan Litman says
My lifelong favorite seasonal dessert has always been my mom's apple cake, which she makes every fall for the holidays. When I was diagnosed with celiac, this was the one thing I truly missed more than anything, because to me, it isn't fall until I eat this cake. Now, I'll be honest--I finally tried it GF with Bob's Red Mill 1-1 flour. It's good . . . but I know deep down it could be so much better. If I had skillz, I'd tinker with flours and come up with the right blend, but I'm not that talented. (Smitten Kitchen has a similar apple cake recipe on her site, also titled something like "Mom's Apple Cake." We differ in how we slice the apples :) She does chunks, I slice. She mixes them into the batter, I layer them on top and press them in.)
Looking forward to more of your book and Samantha's, and love all these great new GF recipes, so thanks to you both for exploring this arena! :)
Kristin says
The fruit recipe most often in rotation in my kitchen is your Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble, which I've made with almost every fruit imaginable-- just today with apples and cranberries!
Hillary says
My favorite seasonal fruit dessert has to be the apple cake that my mom made when I was growing up. There were big chunks of apples surrounded by a brown sugary batter. Of course, it tastes best when made by mom 😊
Amanda @ Cookie Named Desire says
Thank goodness for sane reviews coming to the rescue! I already own both of Sam's cookbooks and they are incredible. I was just flipping through it last night trying to decide on what to make.
Jacqueline Caughey says
I love making a red raspberry and rhubarb galette every spring/early summer that not only looks beautiful, but tastes amazing.
Edye says
I love blueberry strudel with cinnamon! SO yummy :)
marta says
Fresh cranberries always and forever. perfect for the fall days with anything specially my morning oats :)
Bonnie says
Pumpkin cake!
Cat says
I love an apple crumble tart - it's got the lovely crisp texture, but with a butter-rich crust that makes it easy to cut and take along for lunch!
Katja says
Good old apple crisp...yum!!!
Beata Macklin says
Your book is amazing, thank you. I borrowed it from my local library and together with my daughter we are testing recipe after recipe. We haven't come across anything we didn't like.
As to my favourite fruit dessert, I would say it would be strawberry "cake/tart".
When I was in high school, every June I would meet with my two best friends and we would bake this strawberry cake/tart. We made bottom crust which resembled shortcake and we would fill cookie sheet with it and on top we would put rows of strawberries. Before we put it in the over, we would sprinkle cinnamon on top. While we waited for it to bake we would make a pot of tea and set the table.
The aroma of cinnamon and strawberries would fill the kitchen. We could never wait for it to cool, we would it still warm. For four years of high school we always looked forward to strawberry season. My mom would make a version of this dessert with Italian prune plums, equally delicious.
Stephanie says
This was absolutely delicious. I upped the amounts to 1 1/2 of the recipe. I had to bake longer. I didn't have enough blackberries so I threw in some cranberries also as well as chopped candied ginger. It was definitely the favorite of my Thanksgiving party. I was sad to see it go so fast.
The Bojon Gourmet says
Your variation sounds wonderful Stephanie! :)
Kari M says
Needed to do this as dairy free so I substituted the butter with the Nutiva Shortening for cooking/baking. Measure for measure and it was perfect; I had never used the product before but wasn't sure if coconut oil alone would suffice. Will use it again for this if I have to do another dairy free rendition!
Alanna says
I'm so glad it worked out! Thanks for the note. :)