This healthy Skinny Holiday Fruit Crisp recipe makes for an awesome festive treat for your family! A simple filling with apples, pears and cranberries topped off with a delicious oat crunch! Less sugar and butter than you’d find in ordinary recipes!
This Skinny Holiday Fruit Crisp has a little story. The story of how I met my husband.
Well, no, not exactly. We met in cooking class in college (I know – why would a trained chef go to a cooking class? Must have been faith) and he instantly fell in love with me.
Or at least that’s what I like to tell people. But anyhow, at the end of the first term we had a cooking exam and when we picked out our menu I knew I wanted to make something festive.
Bonus points for anything Christmas-like, right? So I went for a simple fruit crisp, on the lighter side because I knew we were all going to eat a LOT that day and stress-free because it’s baked in the oven.
Well, first of all this is light. I’m not going to tell you to eat three pans of it (do it anyways) but it definitely contains less butter and sugar than your ordinary fruit crisp.
Secondly, anything Christmas-y does mean bonus points. At least in my books.
And finally it is easy, except if you’re so involved in other people’s food you forget to remove it from the oven and completely burn the oat crisp in one corner.
I still passed my exam, which I’m proud to attribute to the festive flavors in this dish. Or the kindness of my teacher.
Or the fact that she was relieved I didn’t burn down the entire building?
I don’t know, what matters is this fruit crisp, which – if not burnt – tastes amazing.
What’s even more amazing is that my chef-husband still ended up married to me after such a kitchen fail. I guess his love for all things sweet made him stay.
You really don’t need much for this recipe.
Some fruit, some oats, a baking dish and an oven. That’s your rough plan right there. Add a bit of maple syrup, butter and spices into the mix and you’re almost good to go.
I actually made this twice in a row this year because I brought one batch to my sister in law doing a cookie sale for her work outside in the cold. This is such a heart-warming dish it will make the coldest of all cold and wintery days feel warm and welcoming.
Just try and see for yourself – instant warming effect. Plus the smell in your house? Yeah, you will thank me for that later.
Ingredients
To Make the Filling
- 4 medium apples, cored and cubed
- 2 firm pears, cored and cubed
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
To Make the Topping
- 2/3 cups rolled oats
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup pecans, chopped
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Lightly grease an 8 x 8 inch square baking dish or spray with cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- To make the filling add the cubed apples and pears to a large bowl and toss with the lemon juice. Stir in the remaining ingredients and mix very well. Add to the prepared baking pan and bake for 30 minutes or until the fruits have softened, stirring once halfway through.
- Meanwhile, prepare the topping by mixing all topping ingredients together with your fingertips until coarse crumbs form.
- Remove the dish from the oven and stir the fruit well. Top with the oat crumble and bake for another 15 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving warm.