Baked Pears with Streusel Filling

This breakfast or brunch dish requires surprisingly little effort. Prepare the streusel up to two days in advance, stirring in the pecans just before baking to preserve their texture.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 pear half and about 1 tablespoon cooking liquid)

Ingredients

• Streusel:
• 1/4  cup  all-purpose flour (about 1 ounce)
• 1/4  cup  packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2  tablespoons  butter, melted
• 1  tablespoon  honey
• 1/2  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground allspice
• 1/4  cup  chopped pecans, toasted
• 
  Pears:
• 3  Anjou pears, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
• 1/3  cup  apple juice
• 1 1/2  tablespoons  apple brandy

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°.

To prepare streusel, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 6 ingredients (through allspice) in a bowl. Stir with a fork until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in pecans.

To prepare pears, using a melon baller or spoon, scoop out core from each pear half. Spoon streusel evenly into pear halves. Place pear halves, cut sides up, in an 8-inch square baking dish. Pour apple juice and apple brandy into dish. Cover dish with foil. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes. Serve pears warm. Drizzle evenly with cooking liquid.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

200 (27% from fat)

Fat:

6.6g (sat 1.8g,mono 3.2g,poly 1.2g)

Protein:

1.5g

Carbohydrate:

34.4g

Fiber:

4g

Cholesterol:

8mg

Iron:

0.8mg

Sodium:

124mg

Calcium:

26mg