I found the recipe card while cleaning out my grandmother’s kitchen. Her handwriting in blue ballpoint, faded but still clear: “Creamed Pearl Onions - Christmas.” The kind of side dish that appeared every December, reliable as the weather.

She’d written notes in the margins over the years. “More nutmeg.” “Try cashews instead?” That last one surprised me. My grandmother, who never met a stick of butter she didn’t like, considering cashews.

This crumble started with that spirit. Taking something familiar and finding a way to make it work without losing what made it good in the first place.

Pears and cranberries belong together the way December belongs to gingerbread. The pears go soft and sweet, the cranberries hold their shape and tartness. The spices are what make this feel like the holidays. Ginger, cinnamon, a whisper of cloves.

The crumble topping gets its depth from blackstrap molasses. Just a tablespoon, but it darkens the oats and almonds and adds that mineral sweetness that makes you pause mid-bite.

You can prep both parts a day ahead. Keep the fruit filling covered in the fridge. Store the topping in a jar. When guests are lingering over coffee, just assemble and bake. The kitchen fills with warmth—cinnamon, molasses, the faint caramel of roasting fruit.

Gingerbread Pear and Cranberry Crumble

Makes 8 servings
Time: 20 minutes active, 50 minutes total

Ingredients

Filling
6 ripe but firm pears, peeled and sliced
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
¼ cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon salt

Topping
1 cup rolled oats
½ cup almond flour
½ cup sliced almonds
⅓ cup coconut oil, solid
1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses
2 tablespoons maple syrup
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x9-inch baking dish.

Toss pears, cranberries, maple syrup, cornstarch, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt in a large bowl. Transfer to the prepared dish.

In the same bowl, combine oats, almond flour, sliced almonds, coconut oil, molasses, maple syrup, cinnamon, and salt. Mix with your fingers until clumpy.

Scatter topping evenly over the fruit.

Bake 40–45 minutes, until the topping is deep golden and the fruit bubbles at the edges.

Cool 10 minutes before serving.

The kitchen fills with the smell of baking spices and fruit. Steam rises from the bubbling edges where the pear juices meet the hot dish.

A single spoon left in the dish, the last crumbs clinging to the side.