Warm Pear Crumble {for two} {Dairy-Free}

I kinda like the idea of a recipe made for two, don't you? There's one for you and one for someone else (or one for you and another for you; I'm not judging!) without a bunch of extras that have to stick around and keep you eating the same thing day after day. Now, don't get me wrong, there are a lot of foods I don't mind eating day after day - like soft and fluffy sweet potato rolls - but sometimes it's fun to mix things up and skip the repetition for a while.

That's where these crumbles come in. Since I'm finally warming up to pears, and of course because I looooovvvve fruit crumbles with all my heart, a couple cozy pear crumbles sounded like a perfect idea for a cloudy and gray fall day. As I've publicized on Instagram, I have more food lately than I know what to do with, so a crumble recipe for two is exactly the kind of thing I want on my radar. Eat one, share one, and move on; this is what I'm on board with right now.

I also love that this is a really simple crumble recipe - SO easy to make and light enough to be justified as breakfast or dessert. In fact, the most time-consuming part of the recipe for you will probably just be chopping up some pears, and I swear, that's pretty easy. Your oven will be doing most of the hard work here to turn those crispy pears into a bubbling filling spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and all spice, sitting underneath a golden-brown, sweet, and oaty crumble topping.  This is what fall baking should look like - warm, fruity, nutty, eat-it-straight-from-the-baking-dish perfection.

I've been using green anjou pears lately, and while I can't exactly say I have much (read: any) experience with pear varieties, I do like how they cook, turning softer but still retaining their structure, all while embracing that natural sweetness they have. With some brown sugar, a drizzle of honey, and a touch of fall spices, they bake into a fruity, slightly syrupy filling that works perfectly with all those sweet, crumbly oat bits baked on top. The recipe uses all whole wheat flour and just a touch of sugar in order to keep things light, plus coconut oil instead of butter in the topping, which also keeps these vegan. Of course I'm not saying that they taste healthy - what's the fun in that?! - but just that they're a little bit of a less guilty choice for a perfect fall dessert. Less guilt = more food-loving happiness. I like that.

Warm Pear Crumble {for two}

A simple, small-batch crumble recipe to serve two, filled with cozy spiced pears. Plus, it's whole-wheat and dairy-free to make for a little bit of a healthier treat.

• Cook Time: 35 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 2 crumbles 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Spiced Pear Filling

• 9 ½ ounces (2 cups) peeled and chopped pears (on the firm side, I used Green Anjou)
• 1 ½ tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 ½ teaspoons whole wheat pastry flour*
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• dash nutmeg
• dash all spice

Crumble Topping

• 1 ⅛ ounces (¼ cup + 2 tablespoons) rolled oats
• 3 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour*
• 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted**

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease two 6-ounce ramekins with nonstick cooking spray.

Spiced Pear Filling

1. In a bowl, toss pears with brown sugar, honey, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and all spice to evenly coat. Divide mixture between the two ramekins.

Crumble Topping

1. Whisk together the oats, pastry flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add the melted coconut oil and mix in until evenly coating the dry ingredients. Divide topping between ramekins to cover pear filling.
2. Bake crumbles in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, until the tops are golden-brown and the filling is bubbling. Serve warm.

Notes

*You could easily replace the whole wheat pastry flour with all-purpose flour if desired. Regular whole wheat flour should work fine as well.

**For a non-vegan crumble, butter can be substituted for coconut oil if desired.

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