Blueberry Pear Crumble with Lemony Yogurt Glaze

So I am going to admit something that may be shocking to some, but I don’t like cooked fruit. I have never been a fan of apple pie or cherry pie. I do not want a baked apple or a grilled peach. I would just prefer the fruit as it. It is the texture of mushy fruit that does not appeal to me. I do however love the smell of these kinds of desserts cooking or baking. I also do not exist in a vacuum and have to address the fact that most people love cooked fruit in desserts. In fact there are many people who would prefer only to eat their fruit baked into a pie. I will bake a pie or crumble for my family. I do really enjoy making them for others. Like I said I like the smell, and I like the components of these dishes. I love a nice bite of good pie crust and I especially love crumble top. Hence this recipe. So if the ratio of crumble to fruit seems a bit equal, it’s because I really love the crumble top. If you want more fruit, double the fruit. If you want different fruit- use apples, cherries, or peaches. You may just need to adjust the amount sugar you add to the fruit depending on the sweetness and the season. If you use apples, add a little apple pie spice to the apples. Blueberries are my favorite because they don’t need much added and they contain a good amount of pectin as do pears so the filling will be pretty thick even without any additions. The lemon yogurt glaze is not really needed, but I just love lemon anything. Not to mention that blueberries and lemon are so good together. All I will say is, that if you are like me and cooked fruit desserts are not your jam, give this try. It might surprise you.

Ingredients:

For the Crumble Top

1/2 cup AP flour

1 cup quick oats (if you only have rolled oats, just pulse them quickly in the food processor or blender to break them up.)

1/4 cup ground flax meal

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp apple pie spice-optional ( I mix up my own but you can buy pre made apple pie spice at the store or just sub in cinnamon if you that’s all you have)

1/4 cup butter (plant based butter works well here or coconut oil in a pinch)

For the Filling

4 pears thinly sliced

2 pints of blueberries

2 tbsp corn starch

2 table spoons sugar-optional if your fruit is on the sweet side

For the Glaze

Zest of 1 lemon

Juice from half a lemon

2 tbsp plain unsweetened yogurt

2/3 cups of powdered sugar

Recipe:

1. Preheat the over to 350 F. In an oven safe baking dish (9 in X 13 in works well) layer the blueberries and pears and sprinkle over the corn starch and sugar if using. Stir with a spoon to coat.

2. In a separate bowl, combine all the crumble ingredients except the butter, making sure to stir throughly. Then add the butter and use your hands to incorporate the butter. You should have a sandy mixture that easily clumps when you grasp a handful of the mixture and squeeze it.

3. Cover the fruit with the crumble mixture and place in oven to back for about 30-35 minutes until starting to brown on top.

4. While the crumble bakes, combine the ingredients for the glaze and set aside.

5. After removing the crumble from the oven, try to let it cool for 15 minutes before drizzling on the glaze but if you can’t wait, just pour it on and dig in.

This is great on it’s own but would be great with vanilla ice cream. It lasts for about a week covered in the fridge. Enjoy!

Blueberry Pear Crumble with Lemony Yogurt Glaze