Honey and Cinnamon Roasted Pears

Pears are one of my favorite winter fruits. Their season starts in the late fall and runs all the way through spring, and I take every opportunity to enjoy perfectly ripe pears. I’ll pair them with cheese plates, bake them into delicious desserts and eat them as-is. One of the easiest ways to transform pears is to roast them, and it is also one of the most delicious. These Honey and Cinnamon Roasted Pears couldn’t be any easier to make and they are amazingly good.

The pears are sliced, cored and placed in a baking dish, then topped with sugar, honey and a bit of cinnamon. The pears tenderize in the oven and become meltingly soft while producing a sweet syrup that can be drizzled over them after baking. I leave the skins on because it gives the dish a nicely rustic look, but the skins also become so tender that you will hardly notice they’re there. The pears can be eaten as-is, served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert or added to a bowl of oatmeal for an amazing breakfast dish.

You can use any kind of pears with this recipe. I used bartlett pears in the photo above, but I am very fond of comice pears and d’anjous, as well. I prefer to start with pears that are still fairly firm (if they’re already perfectly ripe, I usually just eat them!) because they will soften and sweeten in the oven. If your pears are very firm, you will find that they will need a little bit of extra time in the oven to soften completely, so test them with a sharp knife before pulling them out.

Honey and Cinnamon Roasted Pears
3 large pears
3 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup honey
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a medium-sized roasting dish (any size, but it should be large enough for the pears).
Cut the pears into quarters and remove the cores. You can leave stems attached for a more rustic presentation.
Place pears skin-side-down into prepared roasting dish. Sprinkle with sugar, drizzle with honey and dust with cinnamon.
Place dish in the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until your pears are very tender and show no resistance when poked with a sharp knife.
Serve pears warm, drizzled with a bit of the sauce that forms in the baking dish while the pears are roasting.

Serves 4.