Maple Vanilla Baked Pears

I’m really into Fall cooking mode now, and I have to admit I’m enjoying it a lot. After making a few recipes with apples, I thought I’d give pears a try. This Maple Vanilla Baked Pears recipe sounded so good! Baked pears topped with homemade granola and Greek yogurt. Mmm! My experiences with pears have always involved a can, and granola has always been a sticky bar that barely passes as edible. I have both in my hurricane kit–I don’t eat them because I enjoy them. Well, I’m hoping that is about to change. Fingers crossed!

4 ingredient super simple maple vanilla baked pears that are cooked until warm and soft, completely infused with maple and vanilla, and topped with crunchy granola.

The Ingredients

I had a lot of the ingredients for this recipe on hand, and all I had to buy were the pears and pecans. Unfortunately, there were only three Anjou pears left, and I had to buy pecan halves instead of pieces. Not a huge deal, though, and I’ll survive this extremely minor inconvenience somehow.

The Process

This recipe was really two recipes since I decided to make the Vegan Maple Pecan Pie Granola instead of buying pre-made granola. It was very easy to make, but it added some extra time to this recipe. Here’s how it went:

• 6 minutes to prep the granola
• 1 hour to bake the granola
• 6 minutes to prep the pears
• 25 minutes to bake the pears
• 1 hour 37 minutes total (not including time for granola to cool)

The instructions for both recipes were easy to follow, and I had no trouble at all understanding any of the steps. Even though I’ve never made anything close to the granola or baked pears, everything went very smoothly.

The only step I was thought might be difficult was coring the pears, but it was very simple. The cores weren’t especially hard and were easy to scoop out with a metal teaspoon.

Twenty-five minutes baking in the oven was just the right amount of time. I let them cool just a bit before topping them with Greek yogurt and a bit of the cooled granola. And waiting wasn’t easy–they smelled wonderful! The best part was they tasted better than they smelled. My husband and I loved this healthy treat, and my attitude towards pears and granola has been changed forever.