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Fresh pears baked and basted with a combination of butter, dark brown sugar, vanilla and bourbon make a scrumptious, super-easy dessert.
We love cooking with bourbon – it has a smoky-sweet quality that blends so well with other flavors, particularly the butterscotch notes in this easy-to-make dessert. We chose to use Forelle pears, a beautiful, small pear with a lovely shape and great flavor. Find them if you can, but don’t hesitate to use another variety.
Bourbon-Baked Pears
Fresh pears baked and basted with a combination of butter, dark brown sugar, vanilla and bourbon make a scrumptious, super-easy dessert.
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh pears, peeled and halved lengthwise
- 1-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup bourbon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F and butter a baking dish large enough to hold the pear halves in a single layer.
- Using a melon baller or small spoon, scoop the core and seeds from the pears, drizzle them with lemon juice and arrange them in the prepared baking dish.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and vanilla, stir to combine, then cook until syrupy, stirring occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes. Watch carefully – this mixture can burn easily.
- Gradually whisk in the bourbon and cook just until blended and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Spoon the mixture over the pears, allowing it to pool in the centers where you removed the cores.
- Bake, uncovered for 45 to 50 minutes, until the pears are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Notes
About the pears:
Try to choose pears for this dish that are ripe, but still firm. The Forelles that we used are a small variety of pear with a naturally sweet flavor and somewhat firmer texture. They hold their shape well for baking and would probably make a great choice for poaching as well. The small size makes for a reasonably sized dessert portion too – particularly if you are going to serve it along with ice cream. Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!
The recipe calls for lemon juice but doesn’t address when or how to use it in the instructions. So, I left it out and the result was excellent Before I share the recipe with family I wanted to know if the lemon juice was necessary.
Hi Chuck,
I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the dish and you’re right, the pears will definitely turn out fine without the lemon juice as it doesn’t really figure into the overall flavor profile. Drizzling a little lemon juice over the pears before baking helps to prevent them from turning brown after they’ve been cut. Some varieties, like Bartlett, are prone to that so it can be a helpful step, but omitting it is fine too.
Super easy indeed. Loved the sweet bourbon flavor and I intend to use the sauce with baked apples as well. My only glitch was the pears from my yard (variety unknown) never got soft. Thank goodness their flavor was good!