Pear Crisps With Vanilla Brown Butter Food

PEAR CRISPS WITH VANILLA BROWN BUTTER

Steps:

• Make topping:
• Pulse together flour, almonds, brown sugar, and salt in a food processor until nuts are finely chopped. Add butter and pulse just until blended. Coarsely crumble in a shallow baking pan and chill at least 1 hour.
• Make filling and bake crisps:
• Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle.
• Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into a small heavy saucepan, then add pod and butter and cook over medium-low heat, swirling pan occasionally, until butter is browned and fragrant, about 4 minutes.
• While butter browns, stir together sugars, flour, and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Add pears and brandy and toss to combine.
• Discard vanilla pod, then toss butter with pear mixture. Spoon filling into gratin dishes and sprinkle with topping, mounding it slightly in centers. Put in a shallow baking pan and bake 30 minutes, then rotate baking sheet and bake until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes more. Cool to warm or room temperature on a rack.

BARTLETT PEAR CRISP WITH CINNAMON TORTILLA CHIPS AND VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Slice 2 Bartlett pears in half, brush with melted butter and place skin side down on the grill for 20 minutes. Make a crispy topping by combining 1/2 cup flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/3 cup rolled oats, add 6 tablespoons cold butter and cut all together with a fork or by hand. When pears are starting to get tender, sprinkle crispy topping on the pears for the last 10 minutes of grilling time. Meanwhile, brush fresh flour tortillas with melted butter and grill 2 minutes each side. Remove from grill, brush a little butter on 1 side and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. When cooled, cut tortillas in quarters to be served later. Remove pears from grill, placing each pear in a single serving bowl with a dollop of vanilla ice cream surrounded by cinnamon tortilla chips. Serve immediately.

PEAR FRUIT CRISP WITH VANILLA BROWN BUTTER

Steps:

• Almond & Brown Sugar Topping: Pulse together flour, almonds, brown sugar, and salt in a food processor until nuts are finely chopped. Add cooled butter and pulse just until combined.
• Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour. This prevents the crumble from spreading during baking.
• Vanilla Brown Butter Pear Filling: Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle.
• Split the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into a small heavy saucepan, then add the pod and butter and cook over medium-low heat, swirling the pan occasionally, until butter is browned and the aroma is nutty, about 4 minutes. Best to devote your attention to this step as browning butter can burn easily. You can extend the life of those expensive vanilla beans by not adding the pod to the butter. Instead, follow this simple recipe to make homemade vanilla sugar which is perfect for your coffee or baking.
• Stir together sugars, flour, and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Add pears and brandy and toss until pears are completely coated.
• Discard vanilla pod, then add butter to pear mixture and mix. Spoon filling into baking dish and sprinkle with topping, mounding it slightly in centers.
• Place baking dish on a baking sheet (this prevents spills) and bake 30 minutes, then rotate the baking sheet and bake until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes more.
• Remove from oven and cool to warm or room temperature on a rack.
• Enjoy! Make-ahead instructions: The topping can made in advance, chilled and covered for up to two days. The crisps can be assembled (but not baked) 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring them room temperature before baking.

PEAR CRISP WITH HAND-CHURNED VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Ice Cream: Heat the milk and cream until scalded then turn off the heat. In a bowl whisk together the yolks and sugar; then temper the yolks with the hot cream mixture. Return to the heat and cook carefully stirring constantly until thickened and is 180 degrees F. Immediately pour the custard through a fine strainer into a bowl in an ice bath. Chill. Whisk in the vanilla extract. Turn in a hand crank ice cream machine with ice and rock or kosher salt and keep frozen.
• Make the Crisp: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a bowl, stir together the flour, sugars, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Using a pastry blender or the paddle attachment of an electric mixer, mix in the butter to make a crumbly, sandy mixture.
• Peel, core, and thickly slice the pears and put them in a deep, buttered 2-quart baking dish. (The pears should be at least 2 1/2 inches deep in the pan; add more if necessary.) Drizzle the apple juice concentrate over the fruit and sprinkle the topping over the pears. Bake for 30 minutes, until pears are tender and topping is lightly browned.

CRANBERRY, PEAR AND VANILLA CRISP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375. Combine topping ingredients with a pastry blender, in afood processor, or with your fingers until biggest bits are the size of the oats. Set aside or refrigerate for up to 2 days.
• In a large bowl, stir together the vanilla seeds, brown sugar, white sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon. Add pears and cranberries and stir to coat evenly.
• Spoon fruit into a large, shallow dish (for more surface area and therefore more topping in each bite!) and top with crumble mixture. Bake for 45 minutes until topping is golden and filing bubbles up. Cool 15 minutes then serve with vanilla ice cream.