Honey Baked Asian Pears are a fall dessert knockout! Large, juicy and sweet, the Asian pears are cooked with honey and cinnamon inside a crispy, buttery wonton wrapper. They're lovely for the holidays!
Wonton wrappers can easily double as pastry for desserts! And they're especially good with fruits like pears and apples.
With a small handful of ingredients, this fall dessert doesn't take much time to assemble, and it can be served right from the oven.
You can serve this on a cool fall evening with friends or for a show-stopping Thanksgiving dessert. It's served with (an optional) honey-spiced Mascarpone that melts on every bite, and your guests will seriously flip over this!
Ingredient Notes
- Asian Pears - Crisp, juicy and sweet, Asian pears are known under several names, including Sand pears, Apple pears, Nashi pears, Chinese pears, Japanese pears, and Korean pears. They're available in most major grocery stores from late-October through mid-March. They will almost always come wrapped in netted foam to keep them in their pristine condition. Be sure those you choose are firm without any soft areas.
- cinnamon - Just a touch, because who doesn't love the earthy and warm flavor of cinnamon in a fall dessert? Substitutions: Allspice, pumpkin pie spice or cardamom.
- honey - Use your favorite.
- wonton wrappers - The pears are wrapped in the wonton wrappers, like a present. 😉 The wonton wrappers are a fabulous crisp crust around the tender and sweet baked pear.
- butter - Be sure you use unsalted!
How to Make this Baked Asian Pear Recipe
- Preheat the oven to 375°F, and cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cut about ½ inch off the top and bottom of each pear, to create two flat surfaces. Then peel them, and slice them in half horizontally, and remove the seeds with a melon baller. (You might need to remove a bit of the stem from the flat side also.
Recipe Tip: If you think your pears will be out for more than a few minutes between being peeled and wrapped, drizzle them with lemon juice so they don't discolor.
- Place 4 wonton wrappers on the parchment-lined sheet pan, and place a pear half on top of each one, round side down.
- Sprinkle each half with a pinch of cinnamon, and then drizzle each one with about 1 tablespoon of honey.
Recipe Tip: If your honey is on the thick side, warm it slightly so it's easy to evenly drizzle.
- Fold each corner of the wrapper over the top of each pear half, using the honey as "glue." Each pear should be completely -- or almost completely -- sealed.
* Pro Tip * Do not take the wonton wrappers out of their package until you're ready to assemble. If they are exposed to too much air, they'll start to dry and crack when you fold them over the pears.
- Then, use a pastry brush to coat them with the melted butter.
- Bake in the preheated 375°F oven until they're golden, and the pears are tender, about 45 minutes.
Recipe Tip: If any portion of the wonton wrappers seem like they're becoming too dark before the pears are done baking, lightly cover them with foil -- just lay it on top without securing it to the sides.
Recipe Tip: Expect that a bit of the honey will seep out of the wonton wrapper during the baking process. This is okay.
- While the pears are baking, mix the remaining cinnamon and honey with the mascarpone. Stir until it's smooth.
The mascarpone mixture is thick, more like a spread than a sauce. It's delicious with the warm pear -- however, it's also excellent without it. Your call.
- Use a flat-edged spatula to gently remove each baked pear half from the baking sheet. Drizzle with a little bit more honey and serve immediately with the honey-cinnamon mascarpone.
Variations
- Other fruits. Apples work well with this recipe too. Use Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Jonathan or Crimson Gold. You can use other pear varieties like Anjou, Bartlett, Comice, and Bosc. Baking times and the size of your final dessert will vary.
- Adding flavors. Before you wrap the pear with the wonton wrapper, you can drizzle it with a dessert liqueur like Grand Marnier (orange), Limoncello (lemon), or Frangelico (hazelnut).
Can you make them ahead?
These are really best right out of the oven, when they're still warm and very crisp. If you make them ahead the wonton wrapper will become soggy, especially in the refrigerator. (That said, soggy or not, leftovers are super tasty!)
More Beautiful Fall Fruit Desserts
Whether you serve these beauties for Thanksgiving, a small dinner party, or just for fun, I hope you love them!
Wonton Honey Baked Asian Pear Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Asian pears
- 4 (6 x 6) wonton wrappers
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
- ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon honey, divided
- 1½ tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup mascarpone
Instructions
- Set oven and prep pan. Preheat the oven to 375°F, and cover a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Prep the pears. Cut about ½ inch off the top and bottom of each pear, to create two flat surfaces. Peel the pears, cut them in half horizontally, and remove the seeds with a melon baller.
- Assemble. Place the 4 wonton wrappers on the parchment-lined sheet pan, and place a pear half on top of each one, round side down.Sprinkle each half with a pinch of cinnamon and then drizzle each one with about 1 tablespoon of the honey. Fold each corner of the wrapper over the top of each pear half, using the honey as "glue." They should be completely sealed.
- Bake. Place the 4 wrapped pears on the parchment-covered baking sheet. Use a pastry brush to coat them with the melted butter, and then bake in the preheated 375°F oven until the wrappers are golden and the pears are tender, about 45 minutes. (If any portion of the wonton wrappers seem like they are becoming too dark before the pears are done baking, lay a piece on foil on top, without sealing it to the pan.
- Make mascarpone mixture. While the pears are baking, mix the remaining cinnamon and remaining honey with the mascarpone. Stir until it's a smooth mixture.
- Serve. Use a flat-bottomed spatula to gently remove each pear from the baking sheet, drizzle with a bit more honey, and serve immediately with the mascarpone mixture.
NOTES
NUTRITION
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