Baked Pears

   I can't even begin to tell you how many Sunday evening meals have included this recipe for Baked Pears over the past couple of months!  My children love them, my husband loves them, and I love them.  This is definitely one of those very old-fashioned (read, not so healthy) recipes that remains at the top of my comfort foods list.

  I treasure the memories I have of my grandmother preparing and serving these pears, especially on special holidays.  They smell so wonderful when they are baking and that smell just feels like home to me.  My grandmother always used home-canned pears which made the recipe even better.  Once she stopped canning her own, the times we made the pears seemed to dwindle.  The ones from the grocery store just didn't quite do the trick.

   This past fall, I discovered that Del Monte has completely repackaged their canned fruits and is now dedicated to using fruit from the USA.  The pears I have been using come from the Northwest and they are so very close to the ones from my childhood.  I was so pleasantly surprised when I pulled my baked pears out of the oven and saw that they were still slightly firm, unlike the ones I used to get from the store.

  I have a dear friend from college who has posted on FB frequently that she has an abundance of pears on the trees in her yard.  Katye spent many hours this past summer canning them so I have asked for a place in her kitchen helping her in exchange for some home-canned pears!  In the meantime, though, I will keep making them with my Del Monte ones.

   Be sure that you use a shallow dish for this recipe and that the pears have enough space; otherwise, you might end up with too much liquid.

Baked Pears (click on title for a printable version)

3 cans Del Monte pear halves (15 oz. each)
1/4 C. sugar
1 1/2 t. cinnamon (I use my Pampered Chef Cinnamon Plus)
small pats of butter
large marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a medium sized baking dish very well.

Drain pear halves very, very well.

In a large bowl, mix drained pear halves, sugar, and cinnamon.  Pour into buttered baking dish.

Dot butter over the top of the pears.  Cover with foil.

Bake pears for 40 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 - 15 minutes until most of the moisture is gone.

Pour large marshmallows over the top of the pears and return to oven.  Bake for an additional 5 - 10 minutes or until marshmallows have browned.