Best Caramelized Baked Pears Recipes

BAKED BRIE WITH CARAMELIZED PEARS, SHALLOTS AND THYME

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add shallot; cook and stir for 1 minute to soften. Add thinly sliced pears; cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Pour in white wine, brown sugar, thyme, salt, and pepper; increase heat to medium-high and simmer until the liquid has evaporated, and the pears have lightly caramelized, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
• Cut a Brie-sized hole in the top of the sourdough bread to within 1/2-inch of the bottom. Cut the removed bread into pieces for serving, set aside. Score the Brie around it's edge, using a paring knife to cut 1/4-inch deep. Cut in half by looping an 18-inch piece of very thin string, or unflavored dental floss around the scored Brie and pulling the ends in opposite directions.
• Place the bottom half of the Brie, cut-side-up, into the sourdough loaf. Top with 1/2 of the pear mixture and sprinkle with 1/2 of the slivered almonds. Place the remaining brie half on top, spread with remaining pear mixture, and sprinkle with remaining slivered almonds. Place on a baking sheet.
• Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes or until soft and gooey. Serve with sliced sourdough bread and crackers.

CARAMELIZED HONEY-BAKED PEARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter a baking dish. Cut a small cone from the bottom of each pear with a paring knife, and place a teaspoon of honey inside. Peel a strip of skin away from the top of each pear, just below the stem, but leave the stems intact. Then place the pears bottom side down in the baking dish. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the pears. Pour in water until it reaches 1/3 of the way up the side of the pears, and place the cloves in the water.
• Set the baking dish on a sheet pan, place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Then turn down the heat to 350 degrees and bake for two hours more, basting every 15 minutes with the liquid in the pan. From time to time, lay down the pears down in the liquid so they are thoroughly moistened and cook evenly. After two hours their skins should be shriveled and caramelized.
• Remove the pears from the oven, transfer to a platter or bowls and allow to cool. Place the liquid in the baking dish in a saucepan, and reduce to a syrup. Pour over the pears, and serve or chill and serve cold.

BAKED FRENCH TOAST WITH CARAMELIZED PEARS AND HAZELNUTS

Steps:

• Toast hazelnuts 10-15 mins, let cool, and gently crush ( using a rolling pin). Split vanilla bean, scrape out seeds and place directly in a small sauce pan with 2 1/2 C half and half. Add the remaining vanilla pod. Warm up the half and half and vanilla on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until almost to a boil. Turn heat off and let cool and seep 20-30 minutes. (I used half and half and just added some vanilla). I used chopped pecans, untoasted. Slice pears. Melt 2 T butter in a skillet and sauté pears on medium heat until golden, about 8-10 minutes. Add 1 T maple syrup. Simmer for a few more minutes. Set aside. Cut bread in to 1/2 inch slices. In a medium bowl, beat eggs, salt, spices, orange zest and 3 T maple syrup. When half and half has cooled, remove vanilla pod, and add a little at time into the egg mixture, mixing it together. (Do NOT add hot cream to the egg mixture, unless you want your eggs to curdle. Either let the cream cool, or temper the eggs, by adding just a little warm cream at a time, mixing in-between... so the eggs gradually warm up.) Generously butter a baking dish. Layer bread, hazelnuts, and caramelized pears pouring all the buttery syrup from the pan evenly over the bread. Pour batter over, using a spatula to ensure it goes in all the cracks crevasses. Let sit at least 30 minutes, so bread can soak up batter, or refrigerate overnight. Right before placing in the oven, drizzle the top with 1 more T maple syrup and sprinkle with a pinch of cardamon. Bake @ 350 for 45-50 minutes until puffed and golden. If your layers measure higher than two inches, you may need to bake longer. Check the middle to see if all the liquid is cooked. I have found that the true test is, if it puffs up, it is done. Melt small dots butter over the top and serve with warm maple syrup.

BAKED BRIE WITH CARAMELIZED PEARS, SHALLOTS AND THYME

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add shallot; cook and stir for 1 minute to soften. Add thinly sliced pears; cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Pour in white wine, brown sugar, thyme, salt, and pepper; increase heat to medium-high and simmer until the liquid has evaporated, and the pears have lightly caramelized, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
• Cut a Brie-sized hole in the top of the sourdough bread to within 1/2-inch of the bottom. Cut the removed bread into pieces for serving, set aside. Score the Brie around it's edge, using a paring knife to cut 1/4-inch deep. Cut in half by looping an 18-inch piece of very thin string, or unflavored dental floss around the scored Brie and pulling the ends in opposite directions.
• Place the bottom half of the Brie, cut-side-up, into the sourdough loaf. Top with 1/2 of the pear mixture and sprinkle with 1/2 of the slivered almonds. Place the remaining brie half on top, spread with remaining pear mixture, and sprinkle with remaining slivered almonds. Place on a baking sheet.
• Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes or until soft and gooey. Serve with sliced sourdough bread and crackers.

CARAMELIZED BAKED PEARS

Steps:

• 1. Wash the pears and slice them in half length-wise, leaving the skins on. With a paring knife, scoop out just the seeds in the center. 2. In a glass pie plate, combine the butter and other ingredients until smooth and creamy. Spread evenly over the pie plate to a depth of about 1/2" (remove any excess). 3. Place the pears face-down in the butter mixture. Bake in a preheated 350 oven for half an hour. Butter mixture should be bubbling and starting to crisp up on the edges of the plate. 4. Serve warm or prepare ahead and serve cold. Nice with a miniature scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.