Amaretto Maple Poached Pears
on Nov 05, 2014, Updated Jul 16, 2024
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I am so excited to share this delicious fall dessert recipe for Amaretto Maple Poached Pears!
I really don’t understand why pears get pushed to the side when it comes to fall desserts. They are as sweet as apples, juicy, hold their shape well, have great texture, and are amazingly versatile. Fall is the prime season to buy and eat pears. USA Pears currently has 10 different types of pears that are being harvested. Did you even know there were 10 kinds of pears!? I didn’t! When it comes to picking out the perfect pear at the grocery store there are a couple of things to consider. If you are buying pears to snack on and eat as is, then you want to look for riper and less firm ones. The best way to determine if a pear is perfectly ripe is to gently apply pressure to the “neck” or narrow part of the pear with your thumb. If it yields to pressure, then it’s ripe. If you are going to be using pears for baking or cooking, it’s actually better to buy slightly underripe pears that are more crisp. I discovered that slightly underripe pears are positively ideal when it comes to poaching them.
I have to admit, this was the first time I tried my hand at poaching pears. I really don’t know what took me so long. I think the word poaching just seemed like a daunting method of cooking and scared me a little. Boy was I ever wrong! Poaching is so simple, and yields wonderful tasting and beautiful looking results! The most common poaching liquid for pears is a wine and sugar mixture, but if you are more of the creative type like me, the poaching liquids are endless! When trying to decide what to poach my USA Pears in I came across recipes using tea, beer, coffee, and various liqueurs as the liquid. After hours of browsing I finally decided on one of my favorite flavor combos, pear and almond, or in this case amaretto!
Pears and amaretto are an amazing flavor combination on their own, but the addition of the maple syrup really put them over the top! To poach the pears start by peeling them, cutting them in half, and removing the core with melon baller or paring knife. If you would prefer to leave the pears whole or quarter them, feel free, but you may need to adjust the cooking time. Once the pears are prepped and ready, measure out a half cup of amaretto, half cup of water, and 2 tablespoons of maple syrup.
Pour the mixture into a small saucepan, just big enough to hold the pears. Bring the mixture to a boil, then add the halved pears, reduce the heat to low, and let them simmer for 20-25 minutes. Once the time is up, remove the pears and place them in serving dishes. At this point, turn the heat on the stove up to medium-high so that the poaching liquid is boiling. Continue to boil the liquid until it has thickened and reduced by half. Pour the delicious amaretto, maple, pear infused poaching liquid over the poached pears, and wa-lah! You are left with a simple, but totally gorgeous dessert! If you want to put these Amaretto Maple Poached Pears over the top, then I highly recommend making the amaretto maple whipped cream to serve on top, it’s the perfect finishing touch!
Amaretto Maple Poached Pears
Ingredients
Amaretto Maple Poached Pears
- 2 red anjou pears slightly firm
- 1/2 cup amaretto
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
Whipped Cream
- 1/4 cup whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon amaretto
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
Instructions
- Peel the pears, cut them in half lengthwise, and remove the core with a melon baller or paring knife.
- In a small saucepan just large enough to hold the pears, bring the amaretto, water, and maple syrup to a boil. Once the liquid is boiling, add in the pear halves, cover the saucepan with a lid, and reduce the heat to low so the pears are simmering.
- Poach the pears for 20-25 minutes or until a knife inserted into the pear comes out easily. Remove the pear halves from the poaching liquid and place them in serving dishes. Turn the heat up to medium-high and reduce the poaching liquid by half or until it has thickened and is syrupy. Pour the reduced syrup over the poached pears.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment add the whipping cream and beat on high until soft peaks form. Turn the mixer off and add in the amaretto and maple syrup. Turn the mixer back on to high and whisk until stiff peaks form.
- Spoon or pipe the whipped cream on top of the poached pears. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This really makes me excited for thanksgiving. Thank you!
Thanks Ali! Poached pears are so good and the perfect light dessert for Thanksgiving!
Pears are my favorite. I think because they don’t store as well as apples and squash, we often forget we should be consuming them at an even higher rate. The squash and apples can sit in cold storage until later. These are gorgeous.
Thanks Shaina and that is such a good point you bring up! Have a great weekend!
I don’t like that pears get shoved aside, too! They are equally delicious and then you can do great things with them like poach them in amaretto! Love it!
Thanks Justine! Pear lovers for life!
What a beautiful presentation! I am loving this idea!
Thanks Annie! :-)