Cranberry Ginger Pear Crisp

Fall flavors include both cranberries and pears. Pears are an often overlooked fruits, many times overshadowed by their cousin, the apple. However, in history pears are found to be a common theme and in ancient times were considered a better fruit than the apple. Pears were introduced to the United States in 1629.
Perhaps one of the difficulties of pears is that there seems to be one good day for a fresh pear. If you don't eat it on that day you've missed it. In anticipation of this recipe and a couple of others, I purchased several pears. And I missed the day for some of them, so they all ended up in this dessert. So I used about 6 pears instead of the 3-4 called for, but I think it made the crisp even better.
I also liked this recipe because it uses Cranberry Pear White Balsamic Vinegar. I like shopping for flavored vinegars and oils but sometimes I'm unsure when and where to use them. Olio's Market in Wichita now has an east location, so I'll be buying more frequently, good to have recipes for ideas of using these ingredients. I found the recipe in the Wichita Eagle's Holiday Recipe section.

Cranberry Ginger Pear Crisp

Ingredients:
1 1/2 - 2 pounds Bosc pears (about 3-4) (or more!)
1/4 cup sugar
Grated ginger (use a piece approximately .7 oz)
2 tablespoons Cranberry Pear White Balsamic Vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (I like Vietnamese Cinnamon)
topping:
3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 pound cold unsalted butter, diced

Directions:
          Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8x8" glass baking dish or a 9-inch pie pan. Peel, core and cut the pears into thin slices. In a large bowl, combine the pears with sugar, ginger, Cranberry Pear White Balsamic Vinegar and cinnamon. Combine well and allow to sit while you make the topping.
         For the topping: Combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal and butter in a bowl. With an electric mixer or with a pastry blender, cut in or mix until crumbly. Don't over mix. The clumps of butter should be about pea-sized.
        Layer the pears in the baking dish, making sure you include all the juice from the bottom of the bowl. Spread the topping mixture evenly over the pears. Place in the oven for 50 minutes or until the top is golden brown and slightly bubbly. It is best served warm, and maybe with a scoop of ice cream.