Fruit, yogurt, and a sprinkle of sugar make a fine dessert of these Healthy Poached Pears with Cinnamon Cream.
It’s cooking with pear week at Think Tasty! We started with a fun deconstructed version, and today features a healthier spin. Who knows what Saturday will bring? Be sure to tune in to find out! (Cue suspenseful music.)
The original post from January 2020
I believe in being fully honest in my recipe writing. There’s no need to let my readers believe something to be true when it isn’t. Thus, I’ll start with confessions that align with this recipe.
Confession #1: The cinnamon cream isn’t really cream. However, when you eat these poached pears, they’ll taste so delicious and elegant, that you could be lead to believe that it is a cream topping. If you looked at the recipe before reading this article, you know that the topping is actually yogurt. In making this recipe more appealing to your sweet tooth, I called it a cream. Sometimes just a little bit of mental trickery can make something taste even better than you would have imagined.
Confession #2: All of the pears don’t have as strong of a pink hue as the photo at the top. In fact, the photo right below this paragraph will prove that to be true. When poaching the first batch of pears, they had a nice pink hue. The second batch had much less pinkness. Although the poaching liquid didn’t look significantly duller, apparently the first batch absorbed most of the color.
Confession #3: There’s a good reason as to why I didn’t call them Cranberry Poached Pears. Even though the pears absorbed the color of the cranberry juice quite nicely, they didn’t absorb much of the flavor. In order to really let the pears absorb the flavor, they would have needed to sit in the liquid for a lot longer. I decided that I’d rather have semi-firm pears that showed their own pear flavor than overly mushy pears that also tasted of cranberry.
Truth #1: I made these pears as a healthier version of other poached pear recipes I’ve made. For example, this Deconstructed Poached Pear is just as delicious but not as healthy. Since it’s January, I’m trying to get my eating back in line after a couple weeks of indulgence everywhere I turned. This healthy version offers much of the same sweet and creamy notes as the deconstructed version without any guilt.
Truth #2: I ate some right after their initial chilling and also ate some two days later. In my recipe notes I wrote that you can poach the pears two days in advance. I did so and found the pears to have the same texture and flavor as when served the day of making. This truly is a recipe you can make in advance.
Truth #3: They really did satisfy my sweet tooth. If you need just a little something to make your sugar cravings go away, this is a good way to do it.
Ok, now that I’ve balanced my confessions and truths, I can put this article to bed. Here’s to more healthy and delicious eating!
One last thought- if you want a more indulgent version, give my Wine Poached Pears with Honeyed Mascarpone a try.
Healthy Poached Pears with Cinnamon Cream
Ingredients
- 1 cup cranberry juice
- 1 cup water
- 4 seckel pears
- 3/4 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
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Bring cranberry juice and water to a boil in a small saucepot.
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Cut pears in half lengthwise; using a spoon remove seeds and stem.
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Place 4 pear halves time in cranberry mixture; reduce heat to low.
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Simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until just fork tender.*
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Repeat with remaining 4 halves.
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When all 8 halves are poached, place on a plate and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
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Combine vanilla yogurt and cinnamon in a small bowl.
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Place pear half on serving plate, skin side down.
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Top pear with a tablespoon of the cinnamon cream.
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Serve immediately.
Notes
**The pears can be poached up to 2 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator until serving time. Top the pears with yogurt immediately before serving.
