Apple-Pear Crisp

I. Love. Fall. Period. Double Period. It is my absolute favorite season.  Second being spring, third summer, and winter...well aside from one good snow and Christmas, winter is for the birds in my opinion.  I hate the cold.  I hate feeling cold, and I hate cold that has "no purpose." You know, that bitter nasty cold that goes straight to your bones.  But right now it is fall, the most glorious time of the year. Full of casseroles and slow cookers, apple cinnamon candles and old college sweatshirts.  I like to make foods that are in season, because obviously they are cheaper to buy.  And you can't get much cheaper than pears you gathered from a relative and apples that have been in your fridge for about a week.  Speaking of apples...soooooo good for you, and once I get on a kick, I eat them every day.  Not on a kick of any kind right now.  Right now I'm still in pregnancy mode, where I eat whatever I want whenever I want.  Mental note: I gotta quit that.  So I mixed up a good old batch of my favorite apple crisp, but subsituted in some pears.  Yummy and very fall-esque. 

Apple-Pear Crisp
makes 8 servings

Ingredients:
For the Fruit Base:
3 cups Granny Smith apples (about 3 large), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
2 cups pears (about 3 large), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

For the Topping:
2/3 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup melted butter, cooled
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350°.  Butter a 8x8 baking dish, or use an ungreased stoneware baking dish.

2.  Prepare the fruit base:  In a mixing bowl, combine apples, pears and lemon juice; toss to coat.  In a separate bowl, mix sugar, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon.  Sprinkle sugar mixture over apples and pears, tossing to coat.  Pour mixture into prepared pan, spreading into an even layer.

3.  Prepare the topping: combine the oats, flour, cinnamon, and brown sugar.  Mix butter and vanilla together and pour over oat mixture.  Stir to combine.  Crumble mixture evenly over the apples and pears.

4.  Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until the crumble topping is golden brown.