Happy Holidays- Cranberry Pear Crumble

Hello fellow chefs! It has been a while since my last post...between the holidays and my youngest cutting his first tooth it is a miracle I have remembered to shampoo my hair on a regular basis!  This will be our very first Christmas with my in-laws since having children, so need less to say it is a big deal!  They are new to The Elf on the Shelf (yes, I know he is creepy, but we have a lot of fun with him!), going to see Santa at the mall is a new thing and massive amounts of visits to the toy store because "you forgot something"!  They are really enjoying themselves.  Not only is this holiday full of new things for them, it is full of new things for Husband and I as well.  Living in Oklahoma, we were not surrounded by a big family, in fact we only had my dear mom.  Holidays for us were small and intimate, however I am thankful for every single one of them.  Moving down to Alabama has given us the opportunity to raise the boys around aunts and uncles, cousins and great grandparents when we otherwise wouldn't have had that chance.  My mom, god willing, is eventually going to relocate to Alabama and then all MY dreams will have come true.

 I have gotten off track....

We have had several family functions to attend in the last few weeks and THAT my friends is where I have been!! So sorry...ha ha. The most recent family function we attended was an annual dirty Santa party/pot luck.  There were THIRTY....30....THREE ZERO, people there! That is a lot. I was asked to bring a dessert and so I chose this Cranberry Pear Crumble that I came across and it was DE-LISH!  If you do not like cranberries then I would suggest using cherries, but I happen to love the super tartness of cranberries next to the sweet graininess of the pears, it is a nice balance.  If you are not a pear person then I am sorry I cannot help you.....KIDDING! Use apples, granny smith tend to be much sweeter.  This was super easy and I cut everything up while I drank my morning coffee and thew this in the oven while I got ready for the party. It was a hit!  I am gearing up for round three of holiday parties this week. I hope everyone enjoys their holiday and eats until they have to unbutton their pants! Remember the meaning behind Christmas and don't forget what it is really about! Merry Christmas y'all!

Cranberry Pear Crumble

For a 8x8 Pan:
4-5 (not mushy) pears, cored and sliced
1 cup fresh or dried cranberries
1 lemon
1 cup white sugar divided, 1/2 cup and 1/2 cup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 stick cold salted butter
1/4 cup dry oats
cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large bowl toss sliced pears and cranberries in juice from one lemon and 1/2 cup sugar.  In a greased casserole dish or deep dish (I used coconut oil to coat my dish) pour pear cranberry mixture.  In a food processor beat one stick of butter, flour, sugar, brown sugar, oats and cinnamon until crumbly. Add more flour or butter if needed to get consistency right. Sprinkle mixture over pears and cranberry. Bake for 30 minutes or until top of brown and crisp! Serve with ice cream or whipped cream...or enjoy alone! Merry Christmas guys!