Baked Hassleback Pears
Just barely sweet, yet still indulgent, Baked Hassleback Pears are a sophisticated dessert nobody will believe are a cinch to put together! This lightened-up dish is made without gluten or refined sugars, with options to make it dairy-free, too. It's the perfect holiday dessert centerpiece, or an elegant dessert any night of the week.
Ingredients
- 4 Bartlett D'Anjou or Bosc pears, just barely ripe, cleaned and dried
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/8 teaspoon allspice
- Pinch ground cloves
- Pinch sea salt
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- 4 tablespoons melted butter or coconut oil divided
- 1 cup 98 grams almond flour
- ¼ cup 30 grams tapioca flour
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 400°F and coat a 9x13 or similar sized baking dish with a non-stick cooking spray (we use avocado oil).
- Whisk together cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice, cloves, sea salt and coconut sugar in a medium bowl.
- Slice pears in half. Using a melon baller (or a small cookie scooper, or knife) remove the core and seeds from each pear and discard.
- Carefully slice pears half to three-quarters of the way through. Be careful not to cut it all the way.
- Add pears to the baking dish cut side down. Brush the tops with 1 tablespoon of butter and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the set-aside spice-sugar mixture.
- Bake on the center rack for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add the almond flour, tapioca, sliced almonds, and remaining melted butter to the bowl with the sugar-spice mixture and stir together.
- Once the pears are done, remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes to briefly cool.
- Carefully fan open the pears as best as you can. Work some of the streusel in between the slices and then sprinkle the rest on top.
- Return to the oven and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until pears are easily pierced with a fork.
- Serve warm as is, with caramel sauce, ice cream or greek yogurt!
Notes
Make sure to choose a pear that is firm, but ripe.
If you wish to serve less, you can halve the recipe and make it with just 2 pears for 4 servings.
This recipe was originally published in 2016, and updated and republished with new photos in 2020.