Marisa Churchill’s Pear and Sour Cherry Crisp with Truvía^® Calorie-Free Sweetener

Ingredients

For Crisp Topping

• 1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose flour

• 2⁄3 cup (150 mL) Truvía^® calorie-free sweetener spoonable*

• 1⁄4 tsp (1.25 mL) cinnamon

• 1⁄4 tsp (1.25 mL) ginger

• 1⁄4 tsp (1.25 mL) nutmeg

• 1⁄4 tsp (1.25 mL) salt

• 1⁄4 cup (50 mL) oats

• 1⁄4 cup (50 mL) unsweetened coconut, untoasted

• 1⁄4 cup (50 mL) roughly chopped pecans, untoasted and unsalted

• 1⁄2 Tbsp (7.5 mL) vanilla extract

• 21⁄2 oz. (71 g) unsalted butter, cut into 1⁄4" cubes

• 11⁄2 oz. (43 g) reduced-fat cream cheese, cut into 1⁄4" cubes

For Filling

• 41⁄2 cups (1.06 L) diced fresh pear, very ripe, preferably Bartlett

• 3⁄4 cup (175 mL) dried sour cherries

• 1 Tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice

• 31⁄2 Tbsp (52.5 mL) Truvía^® calorie-free spoonable**

• 1 Tbsp (15 mL) flour

• 1⁄4 tsp (1.25 mL) cinnamon

Directions

• 1.  

  Cut the cream cheese and butter into cubes, and place into the freezer for 20 minutes, or until they are firm enough that you can’t press your finger into them, but not frozen solid.

• 2.  

  In a stand mixer, or using a mixing bowl, combine everything but the butter and cream cheese. Mix for 1 minute, just to blend together. Add in the chilled butter and cream cheese all at once. Mix in on medium speed, or with pastry cutters, until the dough is crumbly with small pebble-sized pieces of butter.

• 3.  

  Preheat your oven to 350^° F (180^° C).

• 4.  

  Peel the pears and chop them into 1⁄2-inch cubes. Place the pieces of pear into a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, soften the dried cherries by filling the bowl with hot water. Allow them to sit in the water for several minutes.

• 5.  

  In the meantime, combine the Truvía^® calorie-free sweetener, flour and cinnamon.

• 6.  

  Remove the cherries from the water. Add them to the chopped pears and pour the lemon juice on top. Add in the flour mixture and stir together until well blended.

• 7.  

  Place approximately2⁄3cup of the filling into each 4 ounce ramekin. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet, and lightly cover with foil. At the same time, transfer the crisp topping to a rimmed baking sheet approximately 17x12” in size. Spread the crisp topping in a thin layer evenly over the pan.

• 8.  

  Place the crisp topping into the oven on the center rack. Place the covered ramekins on the rack underneath.

• 9.  

  Bake the crisp topping for 25 minutes, stirring with a fork once every 10 minutes, to break up the pieces. After 25 minutes, remove the topping from the oven. Place the pear filling up on the center rack, and continue to bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, until the pears are soft and the juice is thick and bubbly.

• 10.  

  Remove the filling from the oven, and top each ramekin with 1⁄3 cup of the crisp topping. Serve warm.