Pears are the unsung heroes of autumn and winter! They might not get as much fanfare as apples or pumpkins, but they definitely deserve a moment in the spotlight. Pears and caramel are such a wonderful duo! Pears are naturally sweet, and caramel—well, it’s the golden champion of sweetness. The pear’s subtle sweetness balances out the intense caramel, creating a harmonious blend. They say opposites attract, right? Pears bring a touch of freshness and mildness, while caramel brings depth and complexity.
Pears are like the introverts of fruit—they’re quiet, unassuming and know how to make the most of fall and winter spices. Cinnamon, ginger, cardamom—they all work well.
These bars are like a dessert bar and fruit crisp all in one. Thinly sliced pears nestled between layers of soft brown sugar crust drizzled with caramel sauce, then more crumbly goodness sprinkled on top. What’s not to love!
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Salted Caramel Pear Crumble Bars
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Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 9 X 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
Crust/Topping
Soften the butter in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Add brown sugar & mix until creamed. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, & salt. Mix until a crumbly dough forms. Set aside a cup full of the mixture for the topping. Press the rest of the mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Filling
Thinly slice the pears. Combine brown sugar, butter & milk in a saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil. Lower heat & cook until thickened, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat.
When the crust is done baking, lay the pear slices over the crust in an even layer (overlapping if necessary). Pour the caramel over the pears, and sprinkle the reserved topping mixture over the top.
Baking
Bake for 22-25 minutes, until lightly golden brown. Remove from oven & sprinkle with more sea salt to taste. Let cool slightly before slicing & serving.
Recipe Notes
- These bars are best eaten the day they are baked as they do soften after they sit a while. Nevertheless, they are still good in a softer form.
Fall is that time of year that we can enjoy some more of those wonderful cherries from our own little tree. The fact that we live in the northern part of Alberta, Canada and can eat cherries fresh from our tree is such a bonus.
Cherries are not native to North America, in fact both the sweet and sour varieties were brought to Canada and the U.S. in the 1600s by French and English settlers. The plants, especially the sour varieties, adapted well to our climate.
Sour cherries are a hardier plant than the sweet variety and are well-suited to growing in slightly cooler climates. Even though these cherries are classed as a semi-sweet variety, there are still endless ways to enjoy them.
Unlike many fruits, which are at their best uncooked, sour cherries need a bit of sweetness and heat to reach their peak. Tart as vinegar, with a faint perfume of fresh fruit when raw, they need just a touch of sugar, then start them cooking and watch the tartness blossom. The aroma doesn’t fade, as one would expect; rather, the longer they cook the more it gains body and roundness, until the cherry fragrance becomes overwhelming, the fruit flavor more pronounced and the overall results unforgettable.
Most commercially produced cherry varieties, such as Bing do not cook well. These ‘sweet cherries’ may be wonderful eaten out of hand or tossed in a fruit salad, but they make bland preserves and flat, watery pies.
The tart bite of a sour cherry is glorified when transformed into any type of sweet preserve and can be used to good advantage in savory sauces where tartness is desirable. Chocolate and cherries are a classic marriage, so don’t hesitate to toss sour cherries into your favorite chocolate cake or brownie recipe as I did here.
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Chocolate Sour Cherry Donuts w/ Amaretto Glaze
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Instructions
Donuts
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 6 cup donut pan with baking spray. Set aside
In a large bowl, whisk the egg & sugars until well incorporated. Add in the milk, sour cream, melted butter & vanilla extract. Whisk until well combined.
Using a sieve, sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda & salt. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. The donut batter will be pretty thick at this point.
Transfer the donut batter into a piping bag. Fill the donut cavities with chocolate cake batter about 1/4 full then top each with some cherries. Continue to pipe remaining cake batter on top of cherries on each donut. When baked, the donuts will have a cherry center.
Bake the donuts for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the baked donuts cool in the baking pan for 10 minutes then transfer them to a cooling rack. Let them cool completely before glazing.
Amaretto Glaze
Whisk together glaze ingredients until smooth & pourable. Drizzle over cooled donuts & top with a few more cherry pieces if you wish.
Recipe Notes
- Lor Ann AMARETTO FLAVOR is sweet, with a slight cherry taste and a hint of almond that adds an extra layer of flavor to the donuts.
CELEBRATING GOOD FRIDAY!
Bread pudding always gives me reason to remember good things. Truly a comfort food for those of us that recall it from childhood days. It’s not that the dish was invented here — that honor likely goes to clever medieval or even ancient cooks in Europe and the Middle East who had a surplus of stale bread on their hands. The perfect embodiment of the virtues of frugality and indulgence: day old bread, too precious to waste, is bathed in a mixture of milk and eggs and made into either a sweet or savory bread pudding (with a few other additions) and baked into something sublime. What makes it special is the blend of spices mixed into it and the sauce.
The chai spice baking blend, which is sometimes overlooked, adds a distinct warm flavor and depth. It can include a number of different spices. Cardamom is the most common ingredient, followed by some mixture of cinnamon, ginger, star anise and cloves. Pepper, coriander, nutmeg and fennel are also used but they are slightly less common.
This bread pudding combines hot cross buns with spices inspired by the world’s love affair with Indian chai. The origins of hot cross buns may go back as far as the 12th century. According to the story, an Anglican monk baked the buns and marked them with a cross in honor of Good Friday. Over time they gained popularity, and eventually became a symbol of Easter weekend.
Bread pudding, when done right, should have the perfect balance of gooey goodness and chewy texture. That’s why stale bread/buns are important. The bread needs a degree of crunch otherwise you will have ‘mush pudding’. For additional flavor, the pudding is served with a vanilla sauce. Who says bread pudding has to be boring!
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Chai Spiced Hot Cross Bread Pudding w/ Vanilla Sauce
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Instructions
Bread Pudding
Place cubed hot cross buns in a greased 9 x 9-inch baking dish.
In a large bowl, combine the milk, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, spices & salt. Pour over buns, making sure that the bread is completely covered by the milk mixture.
Cover & refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.
Set out the chilled bread pudding while you preheat the oven to 350 F.
Bake 40 - 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the pudding comes out clean. Remove from oven & serve with vanilla sauce.
Vanilla Sauce
In a small saucepan, melt butter & add flour. Stir until mixture has a nutty aroma.
Add salt, cream & sugar; stir until mixture becomes thick. Remove from heat & stir in vanilla.
Spoon over servings of warm bread pudding.
Recipe Notes
- You will notice I have only used 2 Tbsp sugar in the vanilla sauce to offset the sweetness of the pudding.
Persimmon fruit is delicious in their natural state, but they also add wonderful moisture and flavor to baked goods. Fall and winter is the season for persimmons, and with persimmons you can make the most wonderful, sweet or savory things.
A good persimmon (at its peak) has a mild taste that has been described ‘honey-like’. Its texture is similar to that of an apricot and its skin is tougher than an apple.
For Fuyu persimmons, make sure they are very ripe. Peel them, chop them, and remove their seeds. Use a food processor to puree the fruit. If you have ripe persimmons but aren’t ready to make use of them yet, you can freeze the pulp for up to six months. Freeze the puree in 8-ounce containers or ice cube trays. You can add frozen persimmon pulp to smoothies right out of the freezer. If you want to bake with it, bring it to room temperature and use it when thawed.
These little minis are a wonderful mouthful of light and creamy cheesecake made with fresh persimmon puree and warm holiday spices. Take advantage of this wonderful fruit—in season October through February.
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Mini Persimmon Cheesecakes
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Instructions
Base
Preheat oven to 350 F. Place inserts into bottom of each of the 12 cavities of a mini cheesecake pan.
In a small bowl combine gingersnap crumbs with melted butter. Divide between the 12 cavities & press down firmly with the back of a spoon.
Bake on middle rack of oven for about 8 minutes. Cool on a wire rack while filling is being prepared.
Cheesecake Filling
Beat the cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar, persimmon puree, sour cream, egg, spices & vanilla. Beat until smooth & well combined.
Divide filling between the 12 cavities in the cheesecake pan.
Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 15-20 minutes or until set. Begin checking for doneness after 10 minutes, as oven temperatures vary considerably.
Cool 20 minutes on a wire rack, then using your finger, push up through the hole in the bottom of each cheesecake & remove each one. Remove metal insert & cool completely in the refrigerator for 3 hours or overnight.
Garnish with fresh persimmon slices & a bit of whip topping or your choice.
CELEBRATING ST. PATRICK’S DAY!
The term ‘green food’ can mean several things. More and more households are ‘going green’ with their menus, buying food from sustainable local sources. People who are ‘eating greener’ include those who grow their own food and compost all their waste to those who simply take a re-useable bag to the supermarket. Most of us are interested in making decisions that are better for the environment.
Others make immediately think ‘green vegetables’. Then of course there are those who , especially at this time of year, may think of the color green and foods with which to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. There is so much you could do with this holiday in terms of food such as rainbows, leprechauns, shamrocks, pot of gold ………
In North America, St. Patrick’s Day is pretty much just a fun day here. We wear green and we eat green. For the most part, its an excuse to party and drink some green beer. Brion & I aren’t into green beer exactly, so here’s our salute to this Irish day … Avocado Cheesecakes.
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Avocado Cheesecakes
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Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a mini cheesecake pan with paper liners or just use without if the cup bottoms are removable.
In a bowl, combine wafer crumbs & butter until completely moistened. Press crumb mixture into the bottom of each mini cup & set aside.
Beat cream cheese & brown sugar until blended. In a separate bowl, beat eggs. Add remainder of ingredients to the eggs & mix until combined.
Beat egg mixture into cream cheese mixture until well blended. Spoon over crusts, filling to the top of each mini cup.
Bake 15 minutes or until edges are golden & centers are set. Cool completely, then refrigerate for several hours.
These fruit and cereal balls are an old fashioned, unique idea originally called ‘skillet cookies’. The initial mixture is made on the stovetop before its cooled slightly and rolled into mini-spheres. They’re especially appealing during the winter holidays because they don’t need to be baked. That valuable space in the oven can be used for other types of holiday baking.
The cookies get a crunch from the crispy rice cereal and pepita seeds, while the apricots and dates add an amazing sweet spicy flavor.
It seems the skillet cookie nowadays, refers to a a giant, soft and chewy cookie, baked in a cast iron pan, cut into wedges and served warm with ice cream on top. Now I have to admit, it does sound pretty good but if you are just wanting a great little addition to a casual dessert tray in the upcoming holiday season the ‘vintage’ version is quick and easy.
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Crispy Apricot Date Balls
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Instructions
In a small bowl, whisk eggs & brown sugar together thoroughly.
In a heavy skillet, over low heat, melt butter. Remove from heat & stir in egg mixture along with dates & apricots. Set back over low heat & cook, stirring constantly, for 10 minutes or until mixture pulls away from sides of skillet. Do NOT overcook. Remove from heat & stir in vanilla, spices & salt.
Place rice cereal in a large bowl; pour fruit mixture over cereal & blend well. Cool to lukewarm.
Chop pepita seeds finely & place in a shallow dish. Butter your hands lightly & shape mixture into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in pepita seeds to coat. Store in refrigerator.
