Pear Cranberry and Gingersnap Crumble

-adapted from smittenkitchen.com (I left out the white pepper. No thanks)

I happened to stumble upon this recipe when I had ripe pears on my counter, cranberries in the fridge, and friends coming for dessert....it seemed meant to be. I admit I was hesitant (not at the fruit combo--I made a cranberry pear pie in the past that was lovely) because of the gingersnap base for the topping. I'm not wild about gingersnaps, but this just works. Especially when you top it with vanilla ice cream, and enjoy it after a couple mangotinis.

Topping
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons packed dark or light brown sugar
1 cup gingersnap crumbs (about 16 store-bought cookies)
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon table salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Filling
2 pounds (about 4 to 5) large ripe pears (I had red anjou on this day, but any variety is fine) peeled, halved, cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Stir together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, gingersnap crumbs, ginger and salt. Stir in the melted butter until large crumbs form.

In a 1 1/2 to 2 quart baking dish (I used a 7x11), mix the pears, cranberries, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk the sugar and cornstarch together then toss it with the fruit mixture in the pan. 

Sprinkle the gingersnap crumble over the fruit. Bake it for about 45 minutes, until the crumble is a shade darker and you see juices bubbling through the crumbs. Serve warm with ice cream or fresh whipped cream. What I really love about this dessert is that leftovers reheat beautifully and are just as crunchy as they were out of the oven--something you don't get with a traditional fruit crisp dessert. Please accept my sincere apologies, I have no picture of this confection. Use your imagination.