Baked Pears with Cranberry-Ginger Filling and Cider Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 cup apple cider 
• 8  bartlett pears firm ripe
• 0.5 cup brown sugar packed
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar 
• 1 tablespoon butter melted
• 1 cup cranberries fresh
• 1 tablespoon crystallized ginger chopped
• 0.5 teaspoon ground ginger 
• 1  optional: lemon halved
• 1 teaspoon orange rind grated

Equipment

• food processor
• sauce pan
• oven
• baking pan
• aluminum foil
• spatula

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 40
2. Peel pears, leaving stems intact. Slice 1 inch from top of each pear to form a cap. Slice about 1/4 inch from base of each pear so it will sit flat. Core each pear. Rub outside of pears with cut sides of lemon halves. Discard lemon.
3. Combine cranberries, 1/2 cup sugar, crystallized ginger, and rind in a food processor; pulse until finely chopped.
4. Place pears in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Fill each pear cavity with 3 teaspoons cranberry mixture, 1 teaspoon at a time. Top each pear with its cap.
5. Pour cider over pears.
6. Drizzle butter evenly over pears.
7. Combine 1 tablespoon of sugar and ground ginger; sprinkle evenly over pears. Carefully cover with foil.
8. Bake at 400 for 1 hour or until tender, basting every 20 minutes.
9. Using a spatula, carefully remove pears from baking dish; place on individual dessert plates.
10. Pour liquid from baking dish into a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 12 minutes).
11. Drizzle 1 tablespoon sauce over each pear.