It’s really starting to feel like fall here in Dallas. It’s not that the leaves are changing or anything, and it’s still in the low 90s at the end of the day, but it’s at least a little chilly in the morning. That’s the Dallas version of fall.
And so along with fall comes fall fruit. My favorite fruit being the pear. or the apple. no, the pear.
But I do know that I pretty much like any dessert that’s warm with ice cream on top. I don’t discriminate between fruit desserts, molten chocolate lava cakes, brownies, cookies, pies, you name it. If it’s hot, with ice cream on top, you can guarantee I’ll eat it. And like it.
So yesterday I stopped by Shed No. 2 at the Dallas Farmers Market to pick up some lunch. If you haven’t been down to the Farmers Market in awhile, you should definitely revisit it soon. Shed No.2 is basically a food court, but the options are much more interesting than Fruilatti or Wok n Go. I picked up some soba noodles from Natsumi Kitchen and some homemade tamales from La Popular Tamale House. It’s a great place to stop for lunch if you work downtown, and the parking is really easy.
Anyway, while I was down there I decided to peruse Shed No. 1 for some fresh produce. I picked up some ripe celebrity tomatoes and then a bag of pears. I’m honestly not even sure what kind of pears they are, and I’m kicking myself for not asking.
So what’s a girl to do with a giant bag of pears? I looked through tastespotting for inspiration, and narrowed it down to three options: molasses ginger bread with pears, caramel upside down cake with pears or a pear crumble. Ultimately, I chose the simplest dessert – the pear crumble.
Pear Crumble (adapted from Pioneer Woman’s Pear Crisp)
Filling Ingredients:
4 whole (to 5) Large Pears
⅔ cups Sugar
¼ teaspoons Salt
¼ teaspoons ground ginger (or you can use freshly grated ginger if you have it on hand)
Topping Ingredients:
1-½ cup All-purpose Flour
⅓ cups Sugar
⅓ cups Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
½ teaspoons Cinnamon
½ cups Pecans, Very Finely Chopped
1 stick Butter, Melted
Additional Ingredients:
Ice Cream (I like caramel ice cream, but vanilla bean would be fabulous as well)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel, core, and dice pears. Place into a bowl and stir together with 2/3 cup sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon of ginger. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans. Stir together. Drizzle melted butter gradually, stirring with a fork as you go until all combined.
Pour pears into a baking dish; top with crumb topping. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Place pan on top rack of oven for an additional 10 minutes, or until topping is golden brown.
Serve warm with caramel (Haagen Dazs Five brand) ice cream.
