ref=”https://thinktasty1.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/cranchocpears-400×400.jpg”>We’re still working our way through a large delivery of pears here, and I’ve made pear crisp more than once. Well, now it’s time for another pear dessert, good in a different way, and even easier to make.

The inspiration for this came from several different sources, including my go-to dessert, baked apples, and the restaurant menus I often find myself reading in a professional capacity. (When you do a lot of writing about restaurants you’ve never been to, you stick to those that put their menus online, and you study the menus with great interest.) One of the new desserts I read about this week used pears, black currants, and dark chocolate. (Another was ostkaka, Swedish-style cheesecake, which I seriously considered but finally decided against. Maybe someday.) The pear-chocolate-dried fruit combination sounded interesting — more so than pears just stuffed with butter, sugar, and cinnamon or ginger, though that’s very good too. And a dessert consisting mostly of fresh fruit, with a little bit of rich and sugary stuff thrown in for taste, would be, if not exactly healthy, then less unhealthy than lots of other desserts.

A few more points about cooking and serving: If the pear still has its stalk, you can leave it on — it may help it keep its shape in cooking. That’s why you sometimes see cakes garnished with cherries that still have their stems. Even if you’re concerned about dietary fat, don’t skip the butter. A little goes a long way, and the taste gives the pear an extra touch that nothing else can. Drain the pear halves on paper towels for a few seconds before serving.

Chocolate Cranberry Pears

2015-02-14 20:21:16

Yields 2

Easy, quick, elegant dessert

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Ingredients

1. 1 pear
2. 1 teaspoon semisweet chocolate chips
3. 1 teaspoon dried cranberries
4. butter

Instructions

1. Wash pear.
2. Cut in half, top to bottom.
3. Cut a small slice off the roundest part so the pear halves lie flat.
4. Take out the seeds and rest of core (a grapefruit spoon helps).
5. Fill the hollow with cranberries and chocolate chips.
6. Put a small dot of butter on top.
7. Butter the cut surface of the pear also.
8. Put in a baking pan with a little water to keep from scorching.
9. Bake at 350℉ for about 20 minutes or until pears are soft but not falling apart.
10. If the chocolate chips aren’t completely melted, stir gently to mix them with the cranberries.
11. Serve warm, with ice cream or whipped cream if desired.

By Jane Wangersky

Think Tasty https://www.thinktasty.com/