We finished all the baked apples I made the other day. And not only did I miss having one for dessert last night, I missed the sugary floral fragrance of baking fruit.
Unfortunately I didn’t have an apple left.
But — pears do just as well.
Like these:
BAKED STUFFED PEARS
6 firm pears
1/2 lemon
2/3 cup chopped almonds
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons softened butter, maragrine or coconut oil
2 tablespoons raisins or currants
1-1/2 tablespoons dark rum
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup water
ice cream, sorbet or sweetened mascarpone cheese, optional
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Peel, halve and core the pears. Rub the surfaces with the cut side of the lemon. Place the halves in a baking dish, cut side up. In a small bowl, combine the almonds, sugar, butter, raisins, rum, vanilla and almond extracts and mix ingredients until they are evenly distributed. Place equal amounts of the stuffing into the core of each pear. Add the water to the dish. Cover and bake for about 20 minutes. Remove the cover, baste 2-3 times and continue to bake for another 10 minutes, or until tender, basting occasionally. Serve plain or with ice cream or sweetened mascarpone cheese.
Makes 6 servings.