Pear Cranberry and Gingersnap Crumble

I'm excited to announce there is about to be a show-down in this here apartment.
And maaan, this is a good match-up if there ever was one!

Pears and cranberries and crumble heaven  

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Apples and cranberries and crisp magic

Are you as excited as I am?
You should be, dang it!

First up...
Pear, cranberry and gingersnap crumble. Oozes holidays, right? It's beautiful and perfect in every way.
I mean that. It's perfectly balanced, down to the sweetness from the pears, the tartness from the cranberries, the spices from the gingersnaps, and the textures from the crumble.
Are you looking to give yourself a gift this Christmas?
Let it be this crumble.
Trust me.

Pear, Cranberry and Gingersnap Crumble
(Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen)


Crumble
1 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons packed dark or light brown sugar
1 cup gingersnap cookie crumbs
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon table salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Filling
2 pounds (about 4 to 5) large ripe pears (I used Anjou, suggested in the original recipe) peeled, halved, cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Stir together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, gingersnap crumbs, ginger and salt. Stir in the melted butter until large crumbs form.
In a 1 1/2 to 2 quart baking dish, mix the pears, cranberries, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk the sugar and cornstarch together then toss it with the fruit mixture in the pan. Sure, you could do this in a bowl but then you’d also have to wash that bowl and hooray for fewer dishes.
Sprinkle the gingersnap crumble over the fruit. Set the crumble on a foil-lined baking sheet (in a 2 quart dish, mine didn’t come close to bubbling over but I see no reason to risk it) and bake it for about 45 minutes, until the crumble is a shade darker and you see juices bubbling through the crumbs.