Tender and perfectly spiced pears baked underneath a luscious drizzle of cookie butter and a generous layer of toasted Biscoff crisp topping!
As someone whose family has owned a pear orchard for over 70 years, you’d think I’d have WAY more than five measly pear recipes on my blog. To say that I’m behind on the pear front would be a major understatement.
So to make up for this rather embarrassing confession, I’ve baked up what I believe to be the BEST pear crisp ever…
Why You’ll Love This Biscoff Pear Crisp
Juicy, Tender, and Perfectly Spiced Pears: The fresh pears are enhanced with a trio of warm spices–cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. They’re cooked in a brown butter-brown sugar syrup before they’re drizzled with cookie butter and baked until bubbly and perfectly tender.
Crispy Biscoff Topping: The crisp topping is loaded with crunchy pecans, chewy oats, warm cinnamon, and buttery Biscoff cookie crumbs. You’ll find it nearly impossible not to pick off little bits of crisp topping once it’s out of the oven.
Double the Biscoff: With a generous drizzle of cookie butter in the pear filling and Biscoff cookies in the crisp topping, this pear crisp contains DOUBLE the Biscoff bliss. Add an extra drizzle of cookie butter on top just before serving if you wanna live dangerously. More like, deliciously…
What’s the difference between a crisp and a cobbler?
The difference is in the topping. Crisps have a crumbly topping that’s typically made with flour, butter, brown sugar, oats, nuts (pecans or walnuts), and spices. As for cobblers, they contain a biscuit-like topping that’s less sweet than crisp topping. It’s also softer, fluffier, and somewhat cakey as opposed to crisp toppings which are light, crispy and more textured. If you’re looking for a good pear cobbler recipe, head on over to my Pear Snickerdoodle Cobbler!
How many pears do I need, and what kind?
For this recipe, you’ll need about five medium-sized pears, or 2-1/2 pounds. I used Bartlett pears for this crisp, but I also recommend Bosc or Anjou (both green and red). All of these pears offer a firm texture and dense structure, which allows them to hold their shape while baking. I would avoid Comice pears since they tend to be too soft and juicy.
Tips For Making This Biscoff Pear Crisp
Thinly Slice the Pears: Rather than cutting the pears into chunks, I prefer to slice them thinly. I’ve found that they bake more evenly and provide the perfect texture. You’ll want to aim for 1/4-inch-thick slices. If you have a mix of pears that are both hard and ripe (like I did), I recommend slicing the hard pears thinner–about 1/8 inch thick. This will allow them to bake more evenly with the ripe pears.
Thicken with Cornstarch: Instead of flour, I prefer to use cornstarch as my thickener. Not only does it have double the thickening power of flour, but it doesn’t affect the flavor of the filling. It also results in a filling that’s both translucent and beautifully glossy.
Brown the Butter: Although it’s only three tablespoons, infusing the pears with a little browned butter creates a richer, nuttier profile. Those toasted specks of sheer deliciousness enhance the flavor of the pears and heighten the overall flavor. All you have to do is cook the butter just a little bit longer after it’s melted. Once the butter begins to foam, continue to stir it as the milk solids turn golden brown. It should have a nutty aroma. Once browned, immediately toss in the pear mixture.
Pre-Cook the Pear Filling: While most recipes involve tossing the raw pears with sugar, thickener, and spices, then baking, I like to go one step further by pre-cooking the filling. This not only results in a filling that’s evenly cooked and tender, but perfectly thickened as well. This is also a great cooking hack if your pears aren’t quite ripe enough since pre-cooking softens the pears before they’re baked in the oven.
Use Whole Oats: Whole old-fashioned/rolled oats are always my oat of choice when it comes to the crisp topping. As opposed to quick oats which are ground finer, whole oats have a much more pronounced oat flavor and they provide a much heartier chew.
Add Biscoff Cookies: Due to their deliciously buttery, caramelized flavor, Biscoff cookies add the most exquisite flavor and crispness to crisp toppings. I actually got the idea from my mom since she used to add crushed up graham crackers to her apple crisp topping whenever she didn’t have enough flour. So if you don’t have Biscoff cookies, use crushed graham crackers instead!
Drizzle Cookie Butter on Top: Before you add the crisp topping on top of the pear filling, drizzle about 1/3 cup of cookie butter (warmed in the microwave) evenly over the filling. As it bakes in the oven, those luscious drizzles of cookie butter melt down into the filling, providing extra Biscoff flavor to every bite.
What’s the best way to serve this crisp?
As with ALL of my crisp and cobbler recipes, I like to top a warm bowlful with a cool and creamy scoop of vanilla ice cream. I even like to wait a few minutes to allow the ice cream to melt all through out those delicious crisp crevices and luscious pears. Mmmmm…..
Biscoff Pear Crisp
Ingredients
Crisp Topping:
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup chopped pecans
- ⅓ cup old-fashioned whole oats
- ⅓ cup Biscoff cookie crumbs* (about 5 cookies)
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, softened and sliced
Pear Filling:
- 2 ½ pounds pears (peeled, cored, and sliced into 1/4-inch thick slices)**
- 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup creamy cookie butter (warmed in the microwave for 10-15 seconds)
Instructions
Make the Topping:
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, pecans, oats, cookie crumbs, cinnamon and salt. Using a fork or pastry cutter, cut the softened butter into the dry ingredients. Once halfway incorporated, use your hands to squeeze the ingredients together, until a moist crumb forms; set aside.
Make the Filling:
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Place the sliced pears into a large mixing bowl and toss with the lemon juice.
- In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, cornstarch, spices, and salt. Add this mixture to the pears, and stir to coat evenly.
- Place the butter in a large pot, and melt over medium-low heat. As the butter melts, it’ll start to foam, then turn a clear golden color. Continue to stir the butter, scraping up any browned specks from the bottom of the pan as it starts to brown. It should have a nutty aroma. Once browned and nutty, add the pear mixture.
- Turn the heat up to medium-high, stirring the pears occasionally. After about 10-15 minutes, the pears will have softened slightly, and the juices will have thickened.
- Transfer the filling to an 8-inch square baking dish. Drizzle the warmed cookie butter evenly over the pears.
- Evenly crumble the crisp topping over the pear filling. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown on top.
- Allow the crisp to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. Leftover crisp can be stored covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.