Tasty Tuesdays: Cinnamon Poached Pears

I think I accidentally stumbled upon my favorite fall dessert recipe.

Honestly, I was never much of a pumpkin pie eater...

I based my poached pears off of this recipe. Her's are prettier, mine are healthier. Not that I was trying to make them healthy. I actually just ran out of time. I was going to wrap Pillsbury crescent roll dough around them and bake them up. Instead I stopped here:

And am I ever glad I did. They were amazing. FYI: I am not tooting my own horn here. I am not the first girl to poach a pear. And considering I can't even poach an egg.... they are simple to make. Take my word for it.

Or, you know, you could always.... make your own.

clearly a messy cook.

Cinnamon Poached Pears

modified from Sprinkle Bakes

3-5 pears (I used red)
3-4 c water

scant  1 c brown sugar
cinnamon
whole or ground cloves*
nutmeg*

2 tsp vanilla extract
crushed nuts (walnuts or pecans work well)
caramel sauce (optional)
ice-cream (optional)

Fill a pot up with 3 or 4 coups of water. Add sugar, spices and vanilla and stir well. Bring to a boil.

While waiting for water mixture to boil, peel & core pears. Add to boiling mixture. Let boil uncovered for about 20-30 minutes. Once pears are very tender, turn off burner and let pears sit in water uncovered for about 10 minutes.

Spoon pears into bowls and top with a bit of poaching liquid, caramel sauce and some crushed nuts. Top with a scoop of ice cream, if you like. Cuddle up by the fire & serve immediately.

** A note about the spices: I always eye ball my spices and add more or less to my own taste. Don't be afraid to load on the cinnamon but try to go easy on the cloves and nutmeg. A little goes a long way with those two. I learned that lesson by ruining an entire batch of pancakes with nutmeg.... Haha. **

I hope you enjoyed my little fall recipe. The sweet smell of cinnamon and vanilla wafting through the house will bring you warmth when the weather gets cold again. You may want to tuck this recipe away for safe keeping.