Pear Dessert

Nicole made this over October Break with a few friends and it sounds delicious!

"This recipe would probably work with other fruits like apples or peaches, but pears were what we had on hand on night at the beginning of October break when some friends and I made dinner and dessert together. My measurements are just guesses, because I rarely measure when I cook anyway, and the whole meal that night was sort of spur-of-the-moment.

Ingredients:

• Canned pears (the ones I used had been canned by a friend’s grandma, but store-bought will probably work too, as long as there is some juice in with the fruit)
• Optional (if you’re using fresh fruit or there’s not any or not enough juice in the canned fruit): ¼ cup or so of pear juice (pear juice is often the base for juice drinks and the only part of it that constitutes “natural fruit juice,” even if it’s not supposed to be pear-flavored; if you can’t find it, water will probably work just fine)
• Brown sugar
• Ground cinnamon
• Ground nutmeg
• Optional: maple syrup
• Ice cream (butter pecan or vanilla bean are both great choices)

Directions:

1. If you’re using fresh fruit, chop it into small cubes before you start cooking. If you’re using canned fruit, you could chop it up ahead of time, but it will likely be soft enough to just chop it up as you cook it with your spoon or whatever you’re using to stir.
2. Pour some of the canning juice (or pear juice or water) into a medium-sized skillet. Add probably ½ - 1 tablespoon brown sugar (I don’t really measure when I cook; you’re making a simple thin syrup, so add enough that you get a nice brown liquid that’s just shy of being viscous). Heat over medium-high heat and stir until all of the brown sugar is dissolved. You could also add a splash of maple syrup at this point if it suits your fancy. If it comes to a boil, reduce the heat just a little.
3. Add your fruit to the syrup. Make sure it’s chopped into less than 1-inch cubes (more surface area = faster cooking time and more space to soak up the syrup). Stir to coat.
4. Add a dash each of ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg, and a little more brown sugar. Stir.
5. Cook the whole thing for about two minutes (longer if you started with fresh fruit, since you’ll probably need to soften it). Pour over a couple scoops of ice cream and serve immediately for optimum enjoyment.

Notes:

I recommend cleaning your skillet or pan pretty quickly, or at least putting it in your sink with a little bit of soapy water to set so that the syrup doesn't harden into a caramel and become really difficult to clean up later."

Submitted by niclark