The Divine Redemption of the Cursed Cookie

Dum dum DUUUUM *dramatic music*

So I'll be honest, painstakingly cutting out individual cookie shapes is not something I always enjoy doing, especially when the dough is cursed. So what to do with a ball of leftover linzer dough and a bowl of homemade strawberry jam? That's right, boys and girls, it's crumble time.

During my shopping therapy session, I found some ground cardamom and glorious looking pears. I've never cooked with cardamom, so this seemed like a good first application for it.

I may be playing up the awesomeness of this dessert, but I should note that one of my favorite things is streusel topping. You know, that crumbly, cinnamony, oaty, buttery stuff that sometimes comes on top of apple pie. Oooh yeah. On with the recipe! By the way if you don't have, or don't want to make the linzer cookie dough from the prior post, store-bought pie dough (or a tube of sugar cookie dough) will work just as well.


Pear and Strawberry Crumble

Crust

• dough (sugar cookie, pie, linzer, whatever floats your boat)

Filling

• 4 anjou pears
• 1 cup jam (flavor of your choice)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp cardamom
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• a scant 1/8th tsp rosewater (optional)
• 2 tsp flour
• 2 tsp powdered sugar 

Crumble Topping (from Bon Appetit magazine)

• 2/3 C brown sugar
• 1/2 C all-purpose flour
• 1/2 C oats
• 1/2 C finely chopped nuts (I used pecans)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cardamom
• 6 tbsp chilled butter, cubed

Press the dough into the bottom of a 8" by 8" casserole dish, like the one I used above. Poke the dough with a fork so bubbles don't form when it bakes. Blind bake at 375 for about 12-15 minutes, or until it sets in the middle and gets slightly golden brown around the edges. Allow to cool completely.

For the filling, peal and slice the pears and mix together with the rest of the filling ingredients in a gigundo bowl.

Like so...

Put the topping ingredients in a separate bowl and squish it together with your fingers until you get coarse, delicious crumbs. You should probably taste test it midway through, you know, make sure it's good.

Once the crust has cooled, pour on the filling. The topping should go, you guessed it, on top of that. Bake the whole thing for another 15-20 minutes or so, just until the pears are tender. If the topping appears to be getting a little too burn-y halfway through, cover the dish in tin foil, this will preserve the goodness.

Foood pooooorn...