Holiday Fruit Crisp

Name: Holiday Fruit Crisp
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 65 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup brown sugar; 1/2 cup rolled oats; 1/2 cup all-purpose flour; 1/4 cup chopped pecan nuts; 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; pinch of salt; 1/4 cup cold butter; 3 medium apples (cored and diced); 2 medium pears (cored and diced); 1 cup fresh cranberries (large ones halved); 1/3 cup granulated sugar (or more to taste); 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

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4.94 from 15 votes

Jump to Recipe 11/07/14 | Updated: 01/16/24 | by Nora

We love fruit desserts a lot around here, and this recipe for a Holiday Crisp (aka an Apple, Pear and Cranberry Crisp) is one of my favorites for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

top down view on three bowls filled with fruit crisp and ice cream on a wooden board

Fruit crisps are one of my favorite desserts – and this festive little number comes together quickly in about 15 minutes (depending on your fruit ninja slicing skills). Here I make the simple filling with apples, pears and cranberries; all topped off with a delicious oat crunch.

I really enjoy cooking with seasonal produce, and I like quick and easy recipes even more. So, this is defintiely one of my staple desserts for the fall and winter months.

Ingredients you’ll need

image collage to show ingredients needed for holiday fruit crisp — Ingredients for Holiday Fruit Crisp: Oats, brown sugar, pecans, flour, salt, cinnamon, cold butter, apples, pears, cranberries, white sugar, plus a liitle bit more flour and cinnamon.

Ingredient notes

sugar: you can use all brown or all white sugar, if you don’t have both kinds.
pecans: you can replace these with oats in case of an allergy, or if you don’t have any.
butter: please use butter cold from the fridge; please do not substitute a buttery spread. If wanting to use margarine, you have to use stick margarine (and not the soft, spreadable kind).

Step by step photos

This is a very classic, simple recipe to make a fruit crisp. All you have to do is assemble the topping, stir up the filling and then layer them in a baking dish.

photo collage to show steps in holiday fruit crisp — Steps to make this fruit crisp: 1) Combine the dry ingredients for topping, 2) cut in the butter. 3) Combine the filling and 4) place in buttered dish. 5) Top with crumble topping and bake.

Tips & tricks

Don’t skip chilling the topping: This helps the topping to turn out crumbly and stay on top of the fruit – otherwise the butter could melt too fast and you’d be left with a greasy filling and a try topping.
Peeling the fruit: If you want to peel the apples and pears for the crisp, feel free to do so. I actually like the pop of color the skin adds, and it helps the softer pears to stay in shape.
Make ahead instructions: This is a great dessert to make ahead up to 2 days. Finish baking, then cool it completely on a rack. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and chill. To reheat, unwrap and place it in the oven at 300°F until hot. Cover the top with aluminum foil if needed to prevent too much browning.

Watch the recipe video

PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.

Printable recipe

More crisps and cobblers

This recipe was actually one of the first ones I shared here on Savory Nothings, and it was in desperate need of an update. Well, here it is now – transported from its 2014 blogging days into 2019 glory.

I updated it to be even easier and better – a little more sugar in the filling so the cranberries don’t taste too tart, and a much simpler and quicker preparation. Now it’s perfect, if I dare say so myself. Top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and you’re set 😉

Enjoy!

4.94 from 15 votes (12 ratings without comment)

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