Holiday season is rapidly approaching, and that inevitably means entertaining, cooking, and shopping galore are on the horizon. I’ve got you covered on all three fronts with a crowd-pleasing recipe and the chance to win a $100 gift card to Crate & Barrel.
Before we get to the giveaway, let’s talk about holiday cooking!
Let’s face it. For the majority of the USA, the holidays are during the time of year that most fresh produce is tough to come by. That’s where a “garden pantry” stocked with Del Monte® canned fruits & vegetables comes in. The majority of Del Monte® fruit, vegetables, and tomatoes are grown domestically in premium soil and packed at the peak of freshness, which ensures the retention of nutrients. Studies show the canning process for certain fruits and veggies – such as peaches & tomatoes – actually increases the amount of antioxidants and vitamins. So it’s a no-brainer to stock your pantry with Del Monte® canned goods for garden quality cooking inspiration this holiday season.
This is not going to come as a big surprise to those who read this blog often, but I get the most excited about sweet holiday fare. Turkey is all well and good, but it’s the dessert that I really look forward to. When else is it considered appropriate to load your plate with three different kinds of pie? Yes, pie is the traditional holiday dessert, but I love fruit crisp just as much… perhaps even more. A warm, bubbling, juicy fruit filling crowned with a sweet crisp topping sounds like the ultimate end to a holiday meal.
Del Monte® canned pears take center stage in this crisp, which would be a welcomed addition to your holiday dessert spread. The pears are tender and sweet, and the liquid they are canned in is reduced down to make a thick syrupy sauce for the crisp. The topping contains no butter, but is nonetheless golden brown and crisp.
The holidays are unarguably a time for indulgence, but this pear crisp is actually healthy enough for breakfast. Low in fat and light in sugar, you won’t have to think twice about eating a few spoonfuls directly out of the dish the morning after your big feast… if you’re hungry after your holiday meal, that is!
Pear Crisp with Del Monte® pears
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 80 minutes
Keywords: bake breakfast dessert pears oatmeal crisp fall
Ingredients (6 servings)
Ingredients for the pear filling:
- 3 cans (15oz each) Del Monte® Lite Sliced Pears, syrup reserved (see instructions below)
- 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 3/4 cup reserved syrup from canned Del Monte® Lite Sliced Pears (about 2 1/4 cans), divided use
- 1 Tbsp arrowroot powder
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Ingredients for the crisp topping:
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/3 cup neutral-flavored vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup, preferably grade B
Instructions
Place a fine mesh sieve over a 2 cup measuring cup. Pour in one can of pears, allowing the syrup to accumulate in the measuring cup. Pour drained sliced pears into a bowl. Repeat with a second can of pears. Pour in enough syrup from a third can to equal 1 3/4 cup total liquid. Discard remaining syrup in the third can or reserve for another purpose. You should now have drained pears from 3 cans in the bowl, and 1 3/4 cup syrup in the measuring cup.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Toss the pears and lemon juice together and spread in an even layer in a 9 inch baking dish.
For the filling: Heat 1 1/2 cups reserved syrup in a small saucepan set over medium-high heat until simmering. Meanwhile, in the measuring cup, whisk the arrowroot powder into the remaining 1/4 cup reserved syrup until no lumps remain. Whisk the arrowroot “slurry” into the simmering pear juice. Bring mixture to a low boil, reduce heat to low, and let simmer until mixture is has thickened and reduced by half – whisking every now and then – about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla extract and salt, and pour over the pears in the baking dish.
For the crisp topping: In a medium mixing bowl, combine the oats, flour, salt, cinnamon, & nutmeg; whisk to combine. Stir in oil and maple syrup; stir to combine. Evenly crumble the crisp topping over the fruit.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes (you’ll probably want to place a baking sheet underneath the crisp to catch any overflow). Remove the foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes, until the crisp topping is golden brown and the fruit filling is hot and bubbling.
Let sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Sweepstakes Rules: No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b:Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c: Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d: For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 11/18/2013-12/18/2013
Be sure to visit the Del Monte® brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers reviews and find more chances to win!
