Good morning!

It’s been a couple of weeks since my last post, so I hope you are all enjoying your holiday season and December. It’s pretty hard to believe that Christmas is already this week, isn’t it? The past couple of weeks for me have included getting our tree and decorating the apartment, our annual Portsmouth overnight, and holiday parties up the wazoo. Of course, holiday parties come with a lot of fun and festive food, which I’ll get to in a second.

Last week I did have the chance to send out the first F&F newsletter since summer. If you are subscribed, but didn’t receive the newsletter, check your spam. For those of you who are not subscribed at all, consider signing up! The intent of the newsletter is to share behind the scenes announcements, feature content that isn’t on the blog, and offer insider discounts or giveaways. I want to say thank you to those of you who reached out after I shared some of what’s been going on in my head lately. I also want to thank those of you who took the time to fill out my blog survey, as your answers are so thoughtful and have provided me with a lot of insight! If you want to take less than five minutes today to fill the survey out too, please do. I would appreciate it very much.

As for today, I am here with a new recipe for you guys. I like to post recipes in the few days leading up to holidays because there are usually people scrambling for last-minute additions to their holiday menus or maybe haven’t started brainstorming yet.

Today’s recipe is a festive caramelized pear and raspberry crumble, and it’s great option should you need to cater toward any holiday guests with a nut or gluten allergy. Whenever I bake something that’s going to be served to both sides of my family, I have to get creative. I have an aunt with a severe nut allergy and an uncle with a severe coconut allergy, and both nuts and coconut are my go to ingredients for healthier baking! If you are allergic to either, perhaps this recipe will be right up your alley.

Caramelized Pear and Raspberry Crumble

Ingredients

For the fruit filling

• 4 cups of chopped and caramelized pears (see recipe notes)
• 2 cups raspberries
• 2 tbsp of arrowroot flour
• zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tsp lemon juice, to taste
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• Cooking spray

For the crumble topping

• 2/3 cup sunflower seed flour (see recipe notes)
• 1/3 cup gluten-free oat flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2/3 cup gluten-free rolled oats
• 2/3 cup dates, pitted and finely chopped
• 1/2 cup coconut or grapeseed oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Toss the caramelized pears and raspberries with the arrowroot flour, lemon zest, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Pour the fruit filling into an 8×8 dish sprayed with coconut oil cooking spray.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sunflower seed flour, oat flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Stir in the oats and dates, and use your fingers to break up any large date chunks. Add the coconut oil and use your fingers or a fork to work it into the dry ingredients, forming large crumbs. Spread the topping evenly over the fruit.
4. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the fruit juices start bubbling slightly. At around the 20-minute mark, check that the crumble is not browning too quickly.
5. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

• To caramelize the pears: Chop several pears into small squares. Spray a medium to large-sized skillet with coconut oil cooking spray, and heat to medium heat. Drop the cut up pear pieces into the skillet, and saute for one minute. Add the maple syrup and coconut sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the syrup thickens, about 10-15 minutes.
• To make sunflower seed flour, grind raw sunflower seeds in a food processor. Pulse until the seeds have a flour like consistency. 1 cup of sunflower seeds makes around 1 cup of sunflower seed flour.

Don’t be turned off by some of the alternative ingredients in this recipe. Arrowroot flour is actually a great substitute for corn starch and can be found in the Bob’s Red Mill section of stores like The Christmas Tree Shops or Ocean State Job Lot. You can pick up many alternative flours and baking ingredients at those stores actually! When I made the transition into healthier baking years ago, I found it helpful to stock up on some of the “weird” ones at once so that when I wanted to give a recipe that called for one a try, I would have what I needed on hand.

This dish is fun and festive since it uses green pears and red raspberries, and it adds a lighter dessert option to the table. The biggest takeaway for me is that you still get a crunch from the crumble, and it contrasts nicely with the soft fruit. The dish also pairs well with a scoop of vanilla or coconut frozen yogurt or ice cream!

Let’s chat! Have you ever tried arrowroot flour? What festive food are you making this week? What are your go to ways to cater toward guests with allergies or a gluten sensitivity/intolerance at a party?

For some other dessert ideas for this week, check out:

• Grinch fruit skewers
• Lightened up apple crisp
• Flourless chocolate chip blondie bars