Don’t underestimate the power of a good pear recipe. Pears are one of the few fruits that we could eat every day, pretty much year round. They’re not always in season so the sweetness ebbs and flows, and sure, we occasionally get a mealy one too but, overall, pears are pleasantly pleasing. Pears are healthy with lots of fiber and antioxidants to keep away colds while keeping us regular in the bathroom.
This time of year, it’s a little chilly to be eating raw fruit all the time so we decided to look for some yummy ways to prepare pears that please our taste buds while warming us up a bit. Here are a few of our favorite pears recipe ideas we think you should get into now.
1. Simple Baked Pears
Wash and core your pears and place them on a cookie sheet to be baked in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. You can sprinkle them in cinnamon and sugar, drizzle with maple syrup, soak them in honey or all of the above before popping them in to bake until their soft, gooey and the epitome of pear perfection.
Read Related: Keeping it Crisp: 10 Apple Dessert Recipes to Inspire the Garden of Eden
2. Vanilla Poached Pears
Poached pears go great with sweet, creamy yogurt or even ice cream if you’re in search of a truly decadent dessert. This recipe uses white wine and a whole vanilla bean. It’s a rustic looking preparation for pears that we love (don’t forget the ice cream!).
3. Slow Cooked Winter Bread Pudding with Dried Pears
This is a take on traditional bread pudding (bourbon included!) that features dried pears. It’s amazing.
4. Pear Chips
A slightly different take on the preparation of pears, try slicing them super-thin before sprinkling with sugar and baking on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees until they’re crisp and crunchy. Then, eat them just as they are or break them into bite size pieces and sprinkle over your yogurt for breakfast.
5. Caramelized Upside Down Pear Tart
We were drooling at just the ingredient list of this recipe, which calls for butter, cognac, cinnamon, sugar and, of course, pears, among other delicious things. You’ll caramelize the pears first on the stovetop before assembling the tart and baking in the oven. Sure, it’s a bit of work but the results are definitely worth the effort.
6. Spiced Apple and Pear Pie
What could be better than apple pie? Apple and pear pie, that’s what! The pears add some fun depth of flavor to this cold weather classic that is comforting and delicious every time.
7. Chai-Spiced Slow Cooker Pear Applesauce
We know we just talked about combining apples and pears in a pie but what about mixing the two as a variation on applesauce? Trust us, the kids will love this concoction flavored with ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla and cloves. And you’re going to love how the house smells as it cooks in the crock-pot!
8. Pear Quesadillas
The pears recipe combines the sweetness of the pear with a pungent cheese (try cheddar) and adds some peppers and a bit of onion for flavor. You’ll assemble all the fillings between two tortillas and prepare as you would any other quesadilla. We’re calling it totally lunch or dinner appropriate.
9. Ginger Pear French Toast
This recipe is rustic and fun, kind of like the classic pear itself. You’ll caramelize the pears on the stovetop while preparing a classic French toast with cinnamon and ginger added to your egg mixture you dip the bread in before frying. When done, put your pear halves on top of your finished bread and drizzle with some syrup or sprinkle with more cinnamon…or do both.
10. Pear and Nutella Sandwich
This is quite possibly the best pear recipe we have. Between two slices of bread you’ll put thinly sliced pear and as much Nutella as you can handle (which should be a lot if you’re anything like us). We suppose you could actually warm this up grilled cheese style and let the Nutella get all melted and the pear get nice and hot and juicy.
Photos 2, 3 & 6 courtesy of Food Network.com
