ina garten's pear, apple & cranberry crisp

And the winner of the best apple crisp goes to....drumroll please....Ina Garten! Of course!  I sort of knew this would be the best recipe all along and saved it for last.  Because that way the others wouldn't need to pale in comparison. Unfortunately, we didn't really take any pictures of it.  Sometimes I think you can tell how good a recipe is based on the number of pictures we have.  When it's really, really good, well we kind of forget about the pictures because we're so busy....eating.  So you're going to have to deal with pictures from sea glass hunting:

This apple crisp had the most depth of flavor, which I think has a lot to do with the use of orange and lemon zest.  To be totally honest with you, I was a bit nervous about the orange zest part, because I'm not always the biggest fan of orange flavor.  But it was delicious.  Absolutely delicious.  

The crumble topping was also delicious.  Not too crunchy, not too soggy.  It is this topping that Dan and I have decided we would try next time on the sour cream apple pie.  It maybe didn't get quite as golden brown as I would have liked to see, but once I took a bite, I forgot all about it.  Here's your picture, finally:

pear, apple & cranberry crisp

from the barefoot contessa at home

2 lbs ripe Bosc pears (about 4 pears)

2 lbs firm Macoun apples (about 6 apples...and we, once again, used Northern Spies)

3/4 cup dried cranberries

1 tsp grated orange zest

1 tsp grated lemon zest

2 tbs freshly squeezed orange juice

2 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

for the topping:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal

1/2 lb (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, diced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  

Peel and core the pears and apples and cut them into large chunks.  Place the fruit in a large bowl and toss with the cranberries, zests, juices, granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Pour into a 9x12x2 inch baking dish.

For the topping, combine flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal and cold butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed for 1-2 minutes or until the mixture is in large crumbles.  (Or mix with your hands in a medium bowl.) Sprinkle evenly over the fruit, covering the fruit completely.

Place the dish on a parchment lined baking sheet pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the top is brown and the fruit is bubbly.  Serve warm.