I'm always looking for a great dessert. Sometimes I get lucky and it winds up being healthy or at the very least healthier. I have been wanting to make a baked fruit dessert for some time now and the first thing that comes to mind for something like that are apples. I didn't have any of the big apples that work so well for baking but I did have some pears.
I haven't ever done a baked pear before, but I've always loved the slightly sweet, soft grainy texture of pears and thought that they would be even better than baked apples. Pears also happen to be quite healthy with plenty of fiber and other yummy vitamins and minerals. In keeping with the healthy theme of this dessert I also decided I wanted to make an oatmeal crisp to go with it.
Peel the pears and cut them in half the long way, either leaving in or cutting out the stem. Take either a melon baller (if you're so lucky to have one) or a small spoon and scoop out the seeds of each half of the pear. There should be a nice little half circle that is perfect for your oatmeal crisp to nestle inside.
The crisp is simple. Take enough oatmeal for you to be able to fill each nook of your pear halves and then some and add it to about 1 teaspoon of melted butter. Add in a pinch of cinnamon and little more than that of brown sugar (I used a brown sugar substitute which didn't change the taste at all :D). Mix all of this together and scoop the crisp and mound it up into the pear nooks.
Pre-heat the oven to 350F and place the prepared pears on a cookie sheet or in a baking dish with the crisp side up. Let bake for about 25 minutes, the pear flesh should brown a little and should caramelize ever so slightly. Take out and let cool about 5 minutes before serving (or just heat it up a little in the oven later if you need to make them before hand).
Now you can stop here and keep it quite healthy, or you can add a little extra. This is probably the most time consuming part besides the actual baking. Take heavy whipping cream (I made extra so I can't tell you exactly how much will work for you) and put in a deep bowl. Add in about a teaspoon of brown sugar to it per cup of cream as well as a half teaspoon of cinnamon. Get out your electric mixer and mix on medium for about 5 minutes. The cream will bubble up as you mix it but when you get it to the right texture the bubbles will stop and it will smooth out a bit. Beat it about 1 - 2 minutes more like this but make sure to watch the consistency as you don't want to over beat it or it will turn to butter!
Top your pears with your whipped cream and you're done! The hubby wasn't certain about this till after he tried it and when he did he was making all the right noises that mean I need to do this much more often! The little one just doesn't have a sophisticated enough palate for the pears, though the whipped cream he enjoyed.
Since the pears and crisp were so easy and the whipped cream gave a bit of richness, this makes for quite a simple and elegant dessert that's perfect for holiday entertaining! Santa would even like this dessert because you get to still be good when the taste makes you feel oh so naughty!
I haven't ever done a baked pear before, but I've always loved the slightly sweet, soft grainy texture of pears and thought that they would be even better than baked apples. Pears also happen to be quite healthy with plenty of fiber and other yummy vitamins and minerals. In keeping with the healthy theme of this dessert I also decided I wanted to make an oatmeal crisp to go with it.
Peel the pears and cut them in half the long way, either leaving in or cutting out the stem. Take either a melon baller (if you're so lucky to have one) or a small spoon and scoop out the seeds of each half of the pear. There should be a nice little half circle that is perfect for your oatmeal crisp to nestle inside.
The crisp is simple. Take enough oatmeal for you to be able to fill each nook of your pear halves and then some and add it to about 1 teaspoon of melted butter. Add in a pinch of cinnamon and little more than that of brown sugar (I used a brown sugar substitute which didn't change the taste at all :D). Mix all of this together and scoop the crisp and mound it up into the pear nooks.
Pre-heat the oven to 350F and place the prepared pears on a cookie sheet or in a baking dish with the crisp side up. Let bake for about 25 minutes, the pear flesh should brown a little and should caramelize ever so slightly. Take out and let cool about 5 minutes before serving (or just heat it up a little in the oven later if you need to make them before hand).
Now you can stop here and keep it quite healthy, or you can add a little extra. This is probably the most time consuming part besides the actual baking. Take heavy whipping cream (I made extra so I can't tell you exactly how much will work for you) and put in a deep bowl. Add in about a teaspoon of brown sugar to it per cup of cream as well as a half teaspoon of cinnamon. Get out your electric mixer and mix on medium for about 5 minutes. The cream will bubble up as you mix it but when you get it to the right texture the bubbles will stop and it will smooth out a bit. Beat it about 1 - 2 minutes more like this but make sure to watch the consistency as you don't want to over beat it or it will turn to butter!
Top your pears with your whipped cream and you're done! The hubby wasn't certain about this till after he tried it and when he did he was making all the right noises that mean I need to do this much more often! The little one just doesn't have a sophisticated enough palate for the pears, though the whipped cream he enjoyed.
Since the pears and crisp were so easy and the whipped cream gave a bit of richness, this makes for quite a simple and elegant dessert that's perfect for holiday entertaining! Santa would even like this dessert because you get to still be good when the taste makes you feel oh so naughty!
9 comments:
This sounds like the easiest thing in the world which means I can totally do this! I wish I had bought pears this week, but this will have to wait until next week. Sounds amazing, though, and could even be a good breakfast.
Very pretty. It looks delicious!
These look so delicious, and not so bad for you!
Ohhhh yummm.
Thanks for a gorgeous dessert that is healthy too!
i'm not even a big fan of pears, but the photos look awesome
What a gorgeous-looking dessert. I love fruit-based desserts, and this looks perfectly seasonal, and lighter than a crisp. Thanks for sharing!
This is a great dessert! It would absolutely wow any guest at a dinner party. I've poached pears before and it's so simple yet so stunning. There's a natural beauty to this dish that I love.
Thanks for linking to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays!
Amy @ Simply Sugar & Gluten Free
Looks so good, I have been wanting to do some poached or baked pears too, but haven't gotten around to it, thanks for this great recipe!
Thanks all for all the kind words about these pears. Sorry I just don't have a chance to say it to everyone individually!
Post a Comment