This post has been sponsored by Vermont Creamery. All opinions are my own.
I love to incorporate pears into my recipes during the fall and winter seasons. Not only are they juicy and delicious, but they pair well with both sweet and savory flavors. If you’re looking for more recipes that feature this tasty fruit, you’ll love my Roasted Pear Salad with Goat Cheese.
Ingredients
This treat is truly the epitome of the Christmas season, with flavor notes of cranberry, cinnamon, orange, and rosemary. If you’ve begun your holiday cooking and baking, chances are you already have many of these ingredients on hand.
For this recipe, you’ll need Bosc pears, fresh cranberries, orange juice, orange zest, a cinnamon stick, fresh rosemary, honey, mascarpone cheese, hazelnuts, and water.
Ingredient Substitutions
If there’s no time for a trip to the market, or if your local store is a bit understocked, you can still make this recipe with a few simple ingredient swaps. Feel free to substitute based on your preferences, but here are a few suggestions:
- Pears: I used Bosc pears in this recipe for their delicate, sweet flavor, but you can also use Anjou pears, or another pear variety, instead. Just keep in mind that Anjou pears cook much faster than Bosc pears, so you’ll need to shorten the cooking time. If you use another variety of pear, keep an eye on them as they cook and adjust the time accordingly.
- Mascarpone: While I love the creaminess of mascarpone, you can also use ricotta cheese.
- Cranberries: I recommend using fresh cranberries if you can find them, as they cook pretty quickly. You can also use frozen cranberries if you’re in a pinch, but keep in mind that they take longer to come to a boil. If you find yourself with some leftover cranberries after making this recipe, why not make a delicious Cranberry Sauce with Maple Syrup?
- Cinnamon: Cinnamon adds the perfect touch of spice that beautifully complements the sweetness of this recipe. I love to use cinnamon sticks because of their potent flavor, but you can also use ¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon instead.
- Honey: A drizzle of honey (or more, if you have a sweet tooth) really takes these pears to the next level while allowing you to customize the sweetness of the recipe. If you don’t have any honey on hand, you can use agave or maple syrup instead.
- Hazelnuts: Hazelnut is a classic Christmas flavor that pairs so well with this recipe. If you don’t like hazelnuts or if you have a hazelnut allergy, you can substitute pecans or walnuts to achieve a similar taste.
How to Make This Recipe?
With a simple ingredient list and only 10 minutes of hands-on prep time, this cranberry-poached pears dessert comes together with ease. Their simple elegance, especially when garnished with hazelnuts and fresh rosemary, is truly stunning and worthy of a 5-star restaurant. Here’s how to make them:
- Add ingredients to a pot: To a large pot or dutch oven (with a lid), add the pears, cranberries, orange juice, orange zest, cinnamon stick, honey, and rosemary.
- Add the water: Pour the water over the ingredients.
- Cook: Place the lid on the pot and bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Once it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes. You should be able to easily insert and remove a knife when the pears are done.
- Prepare for serving: Right before you’re ready to serve, spoon 2-3 tablespoons of mascarpone into the bottom of each serving bowl. Add a pear to each bowl and top with honey, leftover juices from the pot, and a few cooked cranberries.
- Garnish and serve: Garnish with crushed hazelnuts, fresh rosemary, and another drizzle of honey to taste. Serve.
How to Make Ahead & Store Leftovers?
If your holiday schedule is looking a bit hectic, you’ll be relieved to know that you can easily make this poached pear recipe ahead of time. That way, all you have to do is assemble the pears when you’re ready to serve. You can also store your leftovers to enjoy the next day. Here are some tips:
- Make ahead: To prepare this recipe ahead of time, poach the pears a day in advance (following the instructions above), let them come to room temperature, and store them in an airtight container in the fridge. Make sure to save some of that yummy liquid for drizzling! When you’re ready to serve, assemble the pears and garnish them to your liking.
- Store: To store leftovers, let each poached pear with mascarpone reach room temperature and store them in an airtight container in the fridge for a day or two.
What to Serve It With?
Whether you’re planning an intimate gathering, an elaborate Christmas feast, or a casual weeknight dinner, you can never go wrong with serving these poached pears for dessert.
If you’re in need of some pairing suggestions, I recommend keeping things simple by serving a classic roast. My go-to is Company Pot Roast served with my mom’s Bulgur Wheat Pilaf and a Citrusy Roasted Beet Goat Cheese Salad for a comforting, cold-weather meal that your guests will love.
If You Liked This Recipe, You Might Also Like:
If you try this Poached Pear Dessert recipe, please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It is a great help to others who are thinking of making the recipe. And if you took some pictures, be sure to share them on Instagram using #foolproofeats so I can share them on my stories.
This recipe was adapted (with several changes) from Eva Longoria’s cookbook Eva’s Kitchen 
.
Cranberry Poached Pears Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 medium-size Bosc pears , peeled
- 2 ½ cups fresh cranberries rinsed
- Juice of an orange
- Orange peel
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ⅓ cup honey , or more to taste
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary, more as garnish
- 6 cups water
- 1 cup mascarpone cheese
- ¼ cup hazelnuts, or any other nuts, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Place the pears, cranberries, orange juice, orange peel, cinnamon stick, honey*, and rosemary in a pot (with a lid) that will accommodate all these ingredients comfortably. I used a 3 ½ quart dutch oven.
- Pour the water over the ingredients.
- Put the lid on and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Turn down the heat to medium-low and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes or until a knife inserted in one of the pears goes in and out easily.
- When ready to serve, spread 2-3 tablespoons of mascarpone cheese into the bottom of a bowl, place a pear in the middle, and drizzle it with honey (if preferred), the juices from the pot, and a few of the cooked cranberries.
- Sprinkle the pears with hazelnuts and a few leaves of fresh rosemary. If preferred, drizzle them with more honey to taste.
Notes
- If you are not a fan of boiling honey, you can stir it in after the pears are cooked and let it steep for 10-15 minutes before serving.
- Serving suggestion: You can serve this recipe warm or cold, but I think it tastes best when served slightly warmly.
- Make ahead: To prep this recipe ahead of time, poach the pears a day in advance (following the instructions above), let them come to room temperature, and store them in an airtight container in the fridge. Make sure to save some of that yummy liquid for drizzling! When you’re ready to serve, assemble the pears and garnish them to your liking.
- Store: To store leftovers, let the cooked pears reach room temperature and store them in an airtight container in the fridge for a day or two.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I would love to make these for our Christmas celebrations, however I live in tropical Australia and we do not get fresh cranberries at this time of the year. Could I use dried? I would soak them first to plump them back up. What do you think? Thank you for your wonderful recipes and blog throughout this year. I am looking forward to enjoying all the delicious surprises you have in store for us next year.
Hello Janet,
Thanks so much for your kind words about my blog. You are so sweet.
Himmm.. You know what? It is hard to say as the fresh cranberries has a much stronger taste and flavor than the dried ones. However, I think that it would work. And I don’t think that you need to soak them because you can cook them in the same liquid with pears. Though I would be careful when adding sugar into the liquid as most dried cranberries are already sweetened. I suspect they would release some of their sugars into the liquid. Just taste as you go…
I hope this helps. Please let me know if I can answer any other questions.
Sending Australia warm hugs from the snowy mountains of Vermont. Cheers!
I can’t wait until we are settled in a home again after our year of wandering so I can make this and so many other of your other recipes. Loved your story accompanying this dessert except, of course, for hubby’s pneumonia! I had it years ago and best to take it seriously. Hugs to you both.
Hi there my dear friend. Thanks for stopping by and your encouraging words. You are right, pneumonia is no joke.. Especially now, with the weather being as cold as it is here.. It frightens me. Thankfully he is doing fine right now.
Happy New Year to you and Ron. Sending you both lots of love and hugs.
We are having a dinner party Dec. 16 and I can’t wait to try this pear dessert!! Love your recipes: they are innovative, seasonal, festive and, usually so easy to prepare. Keep ’em coming!!
Hey Larry,
These are so easy to make yet so delicious. Hope your guests will love it too.
A sugar free dessert based on fruits with a festive note? Count me in! Bookmarked and I’ll probably try it for Christmas! Thanks for the recipe! Hope you and your husband are feeling better overtime!
Love,
Olga from <a href=”http://olis-myme.blogspot.gr/”>Myme</a>
Hi Olga,
We are doing much better. Thank you!
These poached pears are a favorite in our house. I hope you’ll like it as much as we do.
Cheers!