Honeyed Pears in Puff Pastry
TOTAL TIME: Prep: 35 min. Bake: 25 min.
YIELD: 4 servings.
A honey of a salute to late-summer pear season, this cozy dessert looks both elegant and decadent. Wrapped in puff pastry, the pears resemble little beehives. —Heather Baird, Knoxville, Tennessee
Ingredients
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4 small pears
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4 cups water
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2 cups sugar
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1 cup honey
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1 small lemon, halved
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3 cinnamon sticks (3 inches)
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6 to 8 whole cloves
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1 vanilla bean
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1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
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1 large egg, lightly beaten
Directions
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1.
Core pears from bottom, leaving stems intact. Peel pears; cut 1/4 in. from the bottom of each to level if necessary.
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2.
In a large saucepan, combine the water, sugar, honey, lemon halves, cinnamon and cloves. Split vanilla bean and scrape seeds; add bean and seeds to sugar mixture. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; place pears on their sides in saucepan and poach, uncovered, until almost tender, basting occasionally with poaching liquid, 16-20 minutes.
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3.
Remove pears with a slotted spoon; cool slightly. Strain and reserve 1-1/2 cups poaching liquid; set aside.
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4.
Unfold puff pastry on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 1/2-in.-wide strips. Brush lightly with beaten egg. Starting at the bottom of a pear, wrap a pastry strip around pear, adding additional strips until pear is completely wrapped in pastry. Repeat with remaining pears and puff pastry.
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5.
Transfer to a parchment-lined 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake on a lower oven rack at 400° until golden brown, 25-30 minutes.
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6.
Meanwhile, bring reserved poaching liquid to a boil; cook until liquid is thick and syrupy, about 10 minutes. Place pears on dessert plates and drizzle with syrup. Serve warm.
Nutrition Facts
1 pear with 3 tablespoons syrup: 518 calories, 17g fat (4g saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 205mg sodium, 92g carbohydrate (49g sugars, 9g fiber), 5g protein.
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