CELEBRITY CHEF RECIPE:
Marisa Churchill

Pear & Sour Cherry Crisp

Whip up this warm, gooey delight and you’ll get raves with every bite. This crisp made with Truvia™ natural sweetener has 83% less sugar and contains 30% fewer calories than a full sugar version.

yield: Makes 8 servings
preparation time: 25 minutes
total time: 1 hour

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Ingredients

For crisp topping
1 cup all purpose flour, or 3/4 cup all purpose & 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 Cup Truvia™ natural sweetener spoonable*
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup oats
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut, untoasted
1/4 cup roughly chopped pecans, untoasted and unsalted
1/2 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2-1/2 ounces unsalted butter, cut into 1/4” cubes
1-1/2 ounce reduced fat cream cheese, cut into 1/4” cubes

* or 37 packets Truvia™ natural sweetener 

For filling
4-1/2 cups diced fresh pear, very ripe, preferably Bartlett
3/4 cup dried sour cherries
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
3 1/2 Tbsp Truvia™ natural sweetener spoonable*
1 Tablespoon flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

* or 12 packets Truvia™ natural sweetener

Instructions

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

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.

Preheat your oven to 365 degrees.

Peel the pears, and chop them into 1/2” 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.

In the meantime, combine the Truvia™ natural sweetener, flour and cinnamon.

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.

Place approximately 2/3 cup 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 inches in size. Spread the crisp topping in a thin layer evenly over the pan.

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

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.

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

This crisp topping keeps nicely for several days. Place any leftover topping into a storage container or zip top bag and keep at room temperature. Sprinkle on top of yogurt, or enjoy on its own as a sweet snack.

Nutrition Facts per serving

Calories 230; Total Fat, 13g; Saturated Fat, 7g; Trans Fat,0g; Cholesterol, 20mg; Sodium, 85mg; Total Carbohydrate, 46g; Dietary Fiber, 3g; Sugars, 7g; Erythritol, 21g: Protein, 4g