Everyone needs a little dessert — even if they are on a diet. I wanted something sweet that would also be relatively healthy, so I ended up with pears.

There is really no reason to use two different kinds of pears, except that it looks prettier to have two colors. And I thought it might make it taste more interesting. I should have gotten one more, though.

This also has cardamom in it, which makes the smell even more heavenly.

I did think the filling was going to be more… filling like. Maybe I didn’t bake it long enough, but it turned out like warm pears with a crispy topping. It was still really good though — Toby and our neighbors agreed.

This doesn’t take a lot of hands-on time, and it’s really easy. And besides making a good dessert… this is a great breakfast. Probably even better with vanilla ice cream. Maybe another time.

Pear crisp with cardamom (by Mark Bittman)
3 pounds pears (about 5 pears)
1 teaspoon cardamom
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 400. Butter an 8- or 9-inch baking dish (round or square, doesn’t matter).

Core and slice the pears, then toss the slices with the cardamom. Place the pears in the baking dish.

Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, oil and sugar oil. Stir in the nuts, lemon juice, oats, flour and salt. Mixture should be combined and crumbly. Sprinkle mixture over the pears.

Bake until the crust is starting to brown, 30 to 40 minutes (Mine was actually done around 20 minutes, so check yours early). Serve warm.