Late night Snack

So the other night Josh got home from music practice and all I could think was that I wanted (no, needed) a sweet treat. Now, normally in such instances we are prone to slum it, and a Wendy's frosty or some soft serve ice cream is the perfect fix. Not this night though. I was comfy and cozy in my sweats and had no desire to leave home. Not to mention I'd been eying the bowl of pears on my counter all evening and wondering how a pear crisp would taste. Enter Pear Crisp with Vanilla Brown Butter . The results just may have put an end to any future late night food slumming. oh, and it's not to bad heated up for breakfast the next morning either!

I made a few changes to the original recipe as found on Smitten Kitchen. The original requires you to refrigerate the topping for an hour and then allow to come back to room temperature before baking. I also replaced whole vanilla bean (which I did not have on hand) with vanilla extract. Mine still came out delicious (remember the drooling?), but I'm sure the extra steps will have equally, if not better results!

Ingredients:

Topping-
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup almonds with skin
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1. Combine flour, almonds, brown sugar, and salt together in a food processor or blender until almonds are finely chopped. Add butter and mix until just blended; crumble and spread on the bottom of a 8x8 baking pan and place in freezer.

Filling-
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 pound (about 6) pears, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons brandy

2. melt 1/2 stick butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla together over medium-low heat. Allow butter to brown and become fragrant, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes.

3. combine flour and sugar with a pinch of salt. Add pears and brandy and mix.

4. Toss browned butter with pear mixture. Spoon filling into 8x8 baking dish then top with crumbled topping. Bake at 425 for 30 minutes until filling is bubbling and topping is golden brown. Cool until warm and top with vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!