Are you ready for another MIND Diet dessert? ‘Tis the season, right? Inspired by my Blueberry Tahini Crisp, I created Cranberry Pear Crisp with seasonal flavors and similar brain-boosting nutrition. This dessert will be a simple and rustic addition to your holiday table. The beautiful combination of pears, cranberries, and pecans harkens back to a simpler time of celebrating the harvest and gathering with loved ones.

Along with the nostalgia factor, Cranberry Pear Crisp also boasts brain-health benefits:

• Pears are an excellent source of fiber, which is very important for heart and brain health. I peel the pears in this recipe to get a smoother texture, but if you want additional nutritional benefits, leave the skins on.
• Cranberries offer more to this dish than beautiful color and little explosions of tart juicy flavor. They are also packed with antioxidants and anthocyanins, and daily cranberry supplementation has been shown to enhance cognition in older adults.
• As nuts and seeds, pecans and sunflower butter are some of the keystone MIND Diet foods. Eating five or more servings of nuts and seeds per week is recommended to help reduce Alzheimer’s risk.
• Cinnamon has been shown to enhance memory and learning, and ginger contains numerous antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which can help reduce the risk of developing dementia.

Cranberry Pear Crisp would be a great dessert to make with kids or with a loved one with dementia (after the pears are chopped and the knife is put away). Unlike most desserts, crisps do not use germy raw eggs. Also, the tactile activity of mixing and squishing the topping with your hands is a great way to engage the senses. This is important for both kids and people living with dementia. If you give that a try, please let me know how it goes. Happy MIND Diet baking!

Cranberry Pear Crisp

A simple and rustic addition to your holiday table, Cranberry Pear Crisp boasts seasonal flavors and brain-boosting nutrition. It harkens back to a simpler time of celebrating the harvest and time spent with loved ones.

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Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 6

Notes

If you have old-fashioned oats on hand, you can grind them in a food processor until they are reduced in size by half or one-third.

Ingredients

  

Ingredients

• 4 Bartlett pears peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cup cranberries fresh or frozen
• 2 cups quick-cooking oats divided
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar divided
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 tablespoons butter cut into squares, softened
• 1/4 cup avocado oil
• 1/4 cup sunflower butter no sugar added preferred
• 3/4 cup raw pecans chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

 

Instructions

• Heat the oven to 350 °F. In a medium bowl, toss the pears and cranberries with 1/4 cup of the oats, 1/4 cup of the brown sugar, and the vanilla. Transfer to a 9-inch pie plate.
• To the same bowl, add the remaining 1 3/4 cups oats, remaining 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons brown sugar, butter, oil, sunflower butter, pecans, spices, and salt. Mix until evenly moistened.
• With wet hands, squeeze the sunflower butter mixture into small almond-size clumps and scatter over the pear mixture. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the edges are bubbling and the crisp is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Keyword avocado oil, Brain health, Cinnamon, Cranberries, Fiber, Ginger, Low sugar, MIND Diet, Nuts, oats, Pears, Pecans, reduced sugar