By Freya Bellin
Now that the weather has finally cooled down enough to use the oven again, I’ve been in the mood to bake. With apples and pears coming into season, choosing a dessert wasn’t very difficult. Apples may be the standard fruit for a crisp, but pears are a particularly good candidate because they tend to get a little beaten up between the market and home, and this is a great use for any that become mushy.
This was my first time cooking with cardamom, which is a really unique spice, as it turns out. It isn’t sweet like cinnamon is, but still gives off that warm, comforting aroma. I actually sprinkled in about ½ teaspoon of cinnamon with the pears too, for some extra flavor and sweetness. The crisp topping is perfect as is, and as noted in the instructions, it certainly can be made without an electric mixer if you don’t have one. I creamed the butter and sugar with a fork, and, though a bit labor-intensive, it worked well.
