Cozy up with this delicious fall treat.

With the beginning of colder weather pouring it’s way onto our umbrellas, it is time for the comforting, stretchy pant-requiring baking that only fall can inspire. This recipe came about when buckets and buckets of pears began falling off the tree in my backyard. I live in the basement suite of a home owned by an elderly couple who kindly shove bags of pears into my hands any time they see me leaving the suite.

My fridge became a pear-holding cell for a couple weeks while the bulk of the harvest was happening, or The fridge was just about taken over by the fruit while the bulk of the harvest was happening.

The basis for the recipe comes from the Easy Peach Crisp on the Minimalist Baker (http://minimalistbaker.com/easy-peach-crisp-vegan-gf/) website. As someone with food allergies, most recipes I research and decide to make will require modifications. I even substituted out the main ingredient, peaches for pears, which is completely okay and even encouraged, so not to waste the produce that’s already sitting in the fruit bowl. This recipe is vegan (egg and dairy free) and nut free, as well. It’s an easy, low sugar and low carbohydrate option, making it okay to eat half the pan in one sitting, preferably with a scoop of vanilla coconut milk ice cream.

Ingredients

• 5-6 ripe pears, peeled, cored and diced
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup rolled or quick cook oats
• ¼ cup whole wheat flour
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup roughly chopped sunflower seeds
• 2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp white sugar
• pinch salt
• 4 Tbsp olive or coconut oil, plus more for coating the pan

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly grease an eight by eight-inch baking dish with your choice of oil.
2. Peel, core and dice the pears and put them directly into the baking dish. Add in the dried cranberries, mix together and spread flat in the dish.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, add flours, sunflower seeds, sugars, salt and oil and mix until evenly combined.
4. Add the crumble layer to the top of the fruit evenly, and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the fruit is bubbling and the crisp is, well, crisp and golden brown.
5. Time to eat. Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. Sealed leftovers will keep in the fridge for two to three days.

This recipe is so simple, delicious and can be modified and re-created again and again with different fruits every season. Requiring only a baking dish and a bowl, even the most novice of bakers can accomplish this dessert and have friends asking for seconds. The pears become sweet and juicy while the crumble crisps up and creates a wonderful contrast in texture and flavour.

Let us know if you try it out! Use the hashtag #looselipsfoodie