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Core the pears and set inside a baking dish. An old fashioned peeler with the pointy tip works well for this.
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Combine the craisins, walnuts and orange peel. Set aside.
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In a saucepan, combine the rest of the ingredients over medium-low heat for 2-5 minutes or until combined and bubbly.
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Take a pinch of your craisin mix and stuff into bottom of each pear. Stir in the rest of the craisin mix into your bubbly sauce.
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Ladle the hot sauce into each pear.
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Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven till the pears are soft. (Usually 30-40 minutes) Check on the pears halfway through. If they look like they are going to burn, cover with foil till the last 5 minutes.
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Let stand at least 5 minutes. Put each pear on a plate then ladle some of the escaped sauce over the pear and drizzle around the plate for presentation.
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Tip: If you don't have any orange peel handy, substitute orange juice for the water.
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Tip: The sauce will escape through the bottom. Don't sweat it. Just ladle it back in after baking. The nut/craisin mix in the bottom helps with this.
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Tip: I know the baking time is a little ambiguous, be we move around a lot and I've made this in several different ovens. It's hard to "kill" these. Just test the pears with a fork. When the tops get that pretty caramel color and they're soft, they're ready.
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Tip: This works with any pear, just adjust the baking time depending on the firmness of the pear. Firmer=longer. I like Bartlett pears because they're fat and stand up on their own better.