Cinnamon Baked Pears

I go a little overboard with cinnamon once the weather gets a little bit cooler and I crave my house beaming with cinnamon scents from the oven while the windows are open to let that yummy smell circulate as much as possible. I had a bunch of pears in the fridge that were begging to be eaten so I figured cinnamon and pears would make a great match. I was right! These were so delicious and would be a perfect way to feed that sweet tooth, while not going overboard. Everyone in the family gave it two thumbs up, though some preferred it served with vanilla ice cream rather than yogurt. My children also loved these chilled the next day and cubed up- it tasted a lot like cinnamon apples you would order from a restaurant.

Cinnamon Baked Pears
12 SERVINGS 
PREP: 15 minutes           COOK: 45 minutes            READY IN: 1 hour

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

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• 6 pears 
• 1/4 cup 100% maple syrup
• 3 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 lemon, squeezed (or use about 2 tablespoons lemon juice)
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

DIRECTIONS

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1. Preheat the oven to 350º (375º if your pears aren't quite ripe). 
2. Peel all the pears. Cut pears in half and core out the middle, as well as the stem. (I used a spoon for the center and a paring knife for the stem).
3. Lay all the pears flat side down in a 9"x13" glass dish. Place maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, lemon juice, and water in the bottom of the dish. Tip the pan side to side to gently mix the ingredients.
4. Flip the pears over and divide the butter evenly between them. (I put the butter in the middle of the pear where I cored it).
5. Bake for 30 minutes, occasionally basting each pear with syrup mixture. Once 30 minutes are over, flip pears and cook for 15 more minutes, or until pears are tender and soft. Serve with yogurt or ice cream.

NUTRITION FACTS

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(calculated if served with 1/2 cup greek vanilla yogurt, as pictured)

    1 pear with yogurt    149 calories   2.1g fat   26.7g carbs    7g protein    17.9g sugar   

Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen