I actually followed a recipe.  Well, I mostly followed a recipe.  Trust me, this is big news.

We have an Asian pear tree, which has given us a few pears over the last couple of years.  I had never even heard of an Asian pear before my father-in-law planted this one, so I didn’t quite know what to expect from this odd little fruit.  Turns out, they look like an apple with pear skin, and taste like a pear with apple texture.  And they’re delicious.

For some reason, our tree turned into a major overachiever this year.  We gave away a few containers of pears today, and my husband estimates there’s still at least 700 pears left.  I see a lot of pear recipes in our future and maybe a pear-ding-dong-dash or two.

My friend mentioned she might make a pear crisp with some of them tonight, which got me thinking.  It’s been a while since I’ve made a crisp, and I’m not sure I’ve ever made one with pears, so I started searching for some help.

Many thanks to the Pioneer Woman for sharing her recipe for Pear Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream.  Since it took me about an hour and a half to peel and chop those little pears, the ice cream wasn’t happening, but I did tackle the crisp.  This is her beautiful photo.

I only changed a couple of things in making this, mostly due to a lack of ingredients and my unwillingness to drive to the store.  I obviously replaced the regular pears with Asian pears, and I used toasted pumpkin seeds instead of pecans. 

I also ended up cooking it about 20 – 25 minutes longer than the recipe called for.  At the time indicated, my filling hadn’t even started to bubble. 

My filling never did thicken, I think because the topping didn’t really blend with the pears at all, but just sat on top.  Next time, I would mix some flour with the pears.

The flavor, however, is fantastic.  In spite of its watery consistency, I don’t think this will make it past tomorrow. 

Anyone have any great pear recipes to share?