Chocolate Brittle Brownies

There was a time when I went through a period of holiday insanity. Succumbing to the influence of Martha Stewart, I spent hours painstakingly making strands of garland out of the tiny acorns and pine cones collected in my yard. Shlepping through an untold number of stores to find glass ornaments to hang on the several themed trees (searching for glass fruit and nut ornaments almost sent me over the edge). Putting up five trees (while working full-time), setting two holiday tables, and artfully arranging fresh greens so that hundreds of people could traipse through my house (talk about a going over the edge experience). This was followed by a long period of recovery from holiday decorating overload along with some consideration given to converting to a religion that didn't include all of the holiday hoopla. An excessive number of boxes and containers of ornaments and various Christmas collections stored in the attic remained unopened for several years. Maybe it was seeing the museum worthy antique collection of Christmas ornaments and decorations in the home of a friend, maybe it was planning ahead for creating a memorable family Christmas dinner, or maybe the world now just seems like a more fragile, unpredictable place, but this year some of those holiday collections acquired over the years would again see the light of day. In the spirit of scaling back, only two trees will be going up. And oh, although I may be lapsed in my religious practices, I have not yet abandoned them.

Everything I learned about decorating a Christmas tree I learned a very long time ago from a friend who created some of the most beautiful, enviable trees I had ever seen. From wrapping the lights around branches to creating a sense of depth to the tree with the selection and placement of ornaments, let's just say a significant amount of time, energy, and patience go the process of trimming the tree. Particularly for those of us trying to emulate (as best as one can) the incredibly talented, artistic eyes of a friend. Needless to say the simple process of decorating a tree is nothing like the hanging of red, green, and gold ornaments on the flocked trees of my childhood.

In the middle of the holiday decorating chaos, I needed to take a deep breath and walk away from it all for a little while. In spite of the chaos of having boxes stacked in rooms and trees in various stages of decoration, I decided to make an even bigger mess and bake some Chocolate Brittle Brownies. The inspiration for a rich fudgy brownie topped with chocolate coated cocoa rice krispies came from a recipe in the cookbook written by Mindy Segal, a multi-talented Chicago chef with extraordinary pastry making talents. Trading her recipe for creme brûlée for these brownies with another chef, she named these unbelievable bites of chocolate deliciousness Barter Brownies. Of course Mindy had to 'gild the lily' and top them with the chocolate coated cocoa rice krispies. Seems there are some similarities between her process of making a brownie and my process for decorating for the holidays.

Three kinds of chocolate, dark brown sugar, granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, unsalted butter, extra-large eggs, kosher salt, vanilla, baking powder, sea salt, and cocoa rice krispies create a rather extraordinary brownie. Ina Garten's Outrageous Brownies (one I took the liberty of renaming Decadent Chocolate Brownies) have been my hands down favorite for years. Because the bar was set so high with those brownies, I have been a little reticent in trying another brownie recipe. But if there was ever a recipe I thought might rise to or exceed Ina's deep chocolate, fudgy brownie insanity, I was pretty confident it wouldn't be that much of risk if Mindy Segal was its' creator. 

These brownies are really easy to make. My only contributions here (other than taking the liberty to rename them Chocolate Brittle Brownies) were to increase the amount of vanilla and add some sea salt to the chocolate/rice krispie mixture. And my only advice is to choose really good chocolate. 

The brownies bake in a preheated 350 degree (F) oven for 30-35 minutes. As the brownie bakes it will form a thin crust on top. When testing for doneness, a toothpick inserted the center will draw out wet crumbs. Over baking these brownies would be akin to under decorating a tree. It wouldn't be pretty. 

Assemble the chocolate and cocoa rice krispie topping once the brownies have cooled.

After spreading the chocolate-cereal mixture evenly over the brownies, cover and place in the refrigerator to chill. Chilling the brownies makes them easier to cut 'cleanly'.

Remove the chilled brownies from the baking pan and place on a cutting board. After cutting the brownies in half lengthwise with a sharp knife, each half is cut into twelve slices. For a bakery finish look, Mindy recommends trimming the edges of the brownies. I decided my brownies would have a refined rustic kind of look.

One slice of these brownies is a substantial portion. Even for those of us who love chocolate. So I decided to cut each slice in half. But you don't have to choose. Your platter can have both the larger and smaller slices of brownies and your slices can be trimmed or untrimmed.

After eating these Chocolate Brittle Brownies, I am happy to share with you that I am no longer a one brownie kind of girl. The combination of the tastes and textures of the fudgy brownie bottom and the crunchy, crispy chocolatey topping is unbelievably delicious. The brownie and candy bar combination is pure genius. Served either at room temperature or chilled (my personal favorite way to enjoy them), you need to make these brownies for your family and/or friends. For those of you (like me) who have been a one trick pony brownie baker, these Chocolate Brittle Brownies are bound to bring about as much of the joy, giddiness, and delight as one feels on Christmas morning. Which is pretty close to how how you feel when you finally finish decorating for the holidays. Wonder what I am going to have to make to get me through the end of the season undecorating process.

Recipe 

Chocolate Brittle Brownies (an ever so slight adaptation to Mindy Segal's Barter Brownie recipe shared in her cookbook Cookie Love)

(24 large brownies or 48 brownie bites)

Ingredients

Brownies

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate (64%-66% cacao), broken into pieces

3/4 cup (6 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

4 extra-large eggs, room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

Brittle

8 ounces dark milk or semi-sweet chocolate (39%-53% cacao), broken into pieces

1 1/2 chocolate puffed rice (such as Cocoa Rice Krispies)

generous pinch of sea salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Lightly spray a 9"x13" pan with non-stick baking spray and line with parchment paper, leaving a 1 inch overhang on the long sides of the pan. Set aside.

2. Melt butter and bittersweet chocolate over simmering water. Set aside but keep warm.

3. In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together dark brown and granulated sugars until blended. 

4. Add melted chocolate, on low speed mix to combine. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl with a rubber spatula to ensure batter is brought together. 

5. Crack the eggs into a measuring cup. Add vanilla. Set aside.

6. Sift together flour, cocoa, and baking powder. Once sifted, whisk in kosher salt.

7. Add eggs one at a time to the chocolate/butter/sugar mixture on medium speed. Mix each egg until incorporated (5 seconds per egg). Scrape down sides of bowl and mix on medium speed for 20-30 seconds to make batter nearly homogenous.

8. Add the dry ingredients and mix until dough comes together, approximately 20 seconds. Do not over mix, dough may look slightly shaggy.

9. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until a thin crust is formed on the top and a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan draws out wet crumbs. Cool completely in pan.

9. To make the brittle, melt dark-milk or semi-sweet chocolate over simmering water. Remove and stir in chocolate puffed rice.

10. Spread chocolate/cereal brittle over brownies in an even layer. Cover and refrigerate until chilled (approximately 2 hours).

11. Lift brownies out of pan and transfer to a cutting board.

12. Cut brownies in half lengthwise, then cut in 12 strips across (yield will be 24 large brownies). For small brownie bites, cut each strip in half.

13. Serve brownies at room temperature or chilled.

Note: Brownies can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

The historic Lake County Courthouse in Crown Point, Indiana built in 1878.

Brown Butter Sea Salted Cookies

As much as I would have loved to host the Thanksgiving family dinner this year, I have always longed to be able to run the Turkey Trot in the town where I live. Not that running a 5k was going to mitigate all of the holiday meal calories consumed (more than likely it would take an Ironman Triathlon for that), but a fresh air, running for a good cause start to the day felt good. Really, really good. Not even having to navigate around all of the strollers, walkers, dogs on leashes, groups walking 5 across, or the threat of an overcast, waiting to rain sky could spoil this Thanksgiving first. Already I am thinking ahead to next year, trying to figure out how to manage the possibility of hosting my favorite holiday meal and running this race. Because of course, I don't want to have to choose between the two.

And for the first time in years or I should say decades, I didn't succumb to the lure of all of those Black Friday sales or the endless number of emails offering all of those savings over the Thanksgiving weekend. That too felt good, surprisingly good actually. Over the years, but even more so recently, I have come to realize there is something to be said for savoring all of the sentiments of Thanksgiving for as long as possible. At least for a couple of days more.

Earlier this fall one of my best friends texted to tell me she had just tasted the ultimate, absolute best, most incredible cookie ever. The discovery of 'the' cookies sold by the Brown Butter Cookie Company occurred while she was on vacation in California. While she was savoring every bite of these cookies, I was left wondering 'so what does such a cookie taste like?' Not that I doubted her (okay maybe I did just a teeny tiny bit), but this was a rather significant claim. Fast forward to this past week when an unexpected, most generous gift of these cookies arrived. It took me all of ten seconds to tear open the box and taste one of these cookies. In a single bite, I learned what the ultimate, absolute best, most incredible ever cookie tasted like. After devouring one of the brown butter sea salted shortbread cookies, I thought 'okay now I need to find the recipe for cookies thousands are willing to drive hours to buy and many more thousands are willing to pay $1.00 per cookie for'. So I embarked on the search for this buttery, sweet, salty shortbread cookie. The looming holiday cookie season was an added incentive.

What I found on this search were a myriad of recipes all claiming to taste just like the ones sold at the Brown Butter Cookie Company. Ha! Like most shortbread cookie recipes the most significant difference amongst them is in the flour to butter ratio. These copycat recipes were no different. To make this slightly more challenging, this cookie had a tenderness to it I didn't think could be achieved by simply using only the recommended all-purpose flour. So I had a few decisions to make before attempting to replicate them. Or rather to get as close to them as possible.

For some unscientific, unable to explain from a culinary perspective reason, 6 ounces of unsalted butter and 12 ounces of flour made sense to me. Less butter or more flour just didn't seem right. But the browning of the unsalted butter would be key to the success of this cookie. Too light and the browning flavor would get lost, too dark and it would overpower the sweetness of the cookie. After listening to the which flour to use debate going on in my head, I decided to use a whole wheat pastry flour. If it didn't work, I would have wasted a stick and half of unsalted butter, 1/2 cup of light brown sugar, a teaspoon and a half of vanilla, some sea salt, some fine red Hawaiian sea salt, and 1 1/2 cups of the whole wheat pastry flour. Hardly the end of the world in terms of ingredient cost. Culinary ego and self-esteem were a completely different matter. Okay, yes I know, this is only a cookie.

This is a two bowl cookie recipe. The flour (the whole wheat pastry flour), the sea salt, and the baking soda are mixed together in one bowl. The browned butter, light brown sugar, and vanilla are mixed in another. And then the still warm browned butter mixture is stirred into the flour mixture just until combined. At this point you want the cookie to rest for anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes (I waited 20 minutes but a 30 minute wait would not be too long) to enable the flour to fully absorb into the butter as well as to allow the dough to cool slightly. As a side note, whole wheat pastry flour is not as fine as all-purpose flour, thus it is slower to absorb the liquid (the browned butter/brown sugar mixture) due primarily to the fiber it contains.

There are two benefits to using an ice cream scoop to form the cookies. In addition to creating uniformed sized cookies, it prevents the dough from being overworked and toughened. After removing the dough from the ice cream scoop, it is quickly rolled into a ball, placed on the baking sheet, and pressed down ever so slightly before being dusted with a very light sprinkling of fine Hawaiian red sea salt. Hint: A little of this salt goes a long way.

On a silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet, the cookies are baked fro 13-15 minutes in a preheated 325 degree (F) oven (my baking time was 15 minutes). After transferring the baked cookies to a cooling rack, allow to completely cool before eating and/or packaging. Remember wait time is all relative. 

The cookie baking stars were aligned on the day I made these Brown Butter Sea Salted Cookies. These were definitely the dense, buttery, salty, melt in your mouth balls of deliciousness I hoped they would be. If the brown butter sea salted cookies from the Brown Butter Cookie Company can sell for $1.00 a cookie, these would be worthy of a 95 cents each price tag. Seriously.

These Brown Butter Sea Salted Cookies will definitely be making an appearance on all of my Christmas cookie platters. However, don't think of them as just another holiday cookie. No, these are kind of cookie you will want to bake year round. Once you taste them you will understand why they shouldn't be relegated to a single month a year. When the cookie connoisseurs in your circle of family and friends first see this rather simple, unassuming cookie, they may look at you and wonder what all of the fuss is about. But trust me, one bite and they will find them hard to resist. This is one incredibly delectable, decadent shortbread cookie. If you haven't noticed, browned butter is one of my favorite things. Fine red Hawaiian sea salt is now added to that list.

Recipe
Brown Butter Sea Salted Cookies (inspired by a recipe shared by Jason Hill)
Makes 15 cookies

Ingredients
12 Tablespoons (6 ounces) unsalted butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed 
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (recommend Bob's Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry Flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
Hawaiian red sea salt, finely ground

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F). Line a 12"x18" baking pan with silpat or parchment paper.
2. In a small saucepan, melt butter over low-medium heat. Continue cooking, stirring frequently until the melted butter is a deep golden color (approximately 8-10 minutes).  Remove from stove and pour into small-medium sized bowl.
3. Add light brown sugar and vanilla, stirring until brown sugar dissolves and is fully incorporated into the browned butter. Set aside.
4. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and sea salt.
5. Pour butter/brown sugar mixture into the dry ingredients. Fold until combined, being careful not to overmix. 
6. Allow the dough to cool slightly and rest for 15-30 minutes before shaping into balls.
7. Using an ice cream scoop first and then your hands to make one inch bowls. Place on prepared baking sheet. Press down on each cookie ever so slightly. Very lightly sprinkle with red Hawaiian sea salt.
8. Bake for 13-15 minutes. Be careful not to over bake.
8. Transfer cookies to cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before eating or packaging.

Baked Ricotta with Blistered Tomatoes

My most favorite of all holidays is just days away. As Thanksgiving approaches the food-asphere is stuffed with simple, complicated, traditional, and trendy recipes; sage advice from cooks everywhere; reminders of the rules for entertaining etiquette; a myriad of table setting ideas; and, of course, let's not forget the wine pairing recommendations. Makes one wonder how the Pilgrims ever managed to get that mythical, yet legendary meal on the table (Spoiler alert: It isn't what we were taught.) Unless one thrives under pressure (at least one for certain, but probably all of my former administrative assistants can tell you what it feels like to work with someone possessing such a quality), by now you have probably made 98% of your Thanksgiving dinner menu decisions (those of us who have second guessing tendencies always needs to leave some room for a last minute change or addition). For some of us, this meal means making multiple trips to grocery stores and food emporiums to get everything needed for that good as or hopefully even better than the dinner made last year. Yet, in spite of all of the time, planning, endurance, and love going into the making of this meal, the food is merely the backdrop for this holiday.

So I am not going to mess with your Thanksgiving dinner plans with this blog post. I am not going to tempt you to switch out your cranberry sauce for this Spiced Cranberry and Dried Fruit Chutney, or persuade you to replace your favorite creamed spinach recipe with this Boursin Spinach Gratin, or have you consider substituting your pumpkin pie recipe for this Brûléed Pumpkin Pie with Caramel Swirl, or even suggest you add a Potato Leek Gratin to your holiday table. No, I am not. Instead, I am going to focus all of my energies on sharing a recipe for an appetizer you are going to need for all of your impromptu or planned gatherings in the weeks and months ahead. Yes, you really, really need this Baked Ricotta with Blistered Tomatoes recipe in your life.

Nothing takes the chill off of a cold night better than a warm appetizer and glass of wine. Well, okay, maybe there are a few other things.

The savoriness of the ricotta, goat cheese and herbs and the sweetness of blistered, caramelized baby heirloom (or cherry) tomatoes become the perfect bite when spread on a crostini baguette.

This absolute deliciousness begins with whole milk ricotta (don't even think of making a 'lighter' substitution here), chèvre (or goat cheese), fresh thyme, finely minced garlic, sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper and an egg.

Thyme was my herb of choice but you could also use fresh marjoram. In the summer or in the warmer parts of the country, you could substitute freshly sliced basil for the thyme. While some will say fresh herbs are more flavorful than dried, there are some herbs you can use in either fresh or dried form without sacrificing all of the flavor. Thyme and marjoram are two of them, however, basil is a fresh only herb. In general, follow a 1:3 dried to fresh to dried ratio if making this substitution (1 teaspoon of dried to 3 teaspoons of fresh). Side note: 1 Tablespoon equals 3 teaspoons.

If you are not using your own homemade ricotta, use a high quality whole milk ricotta (my personal favorite is made by BelGioioso). The higher quality the ricotta, the less the liquid there will be when allowed to drain for thirty minutes before mixing with the other ingredients.

The drained ricotta, chèvre (or goat cheese), and egg are mixed until creamy in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. After blending in the minced garlic, chopped thyme, sea salt and black pepper, the mixture is ready to be spooned into a dish generously brushed with olive oil. Take a lesson for me and choose a baking dish allowing you to easily invert the baked ricotta onto a platter.

At this point you can cover your baking dish and place in the refrigerator until you are ready to put into a preheated 375 degree (F) oven. It takes only 40 minutes for the cheese to puff up and very lightly brown.

Baby heirloom and cherry tomatoes are always in season. Extra-virgin olive oil, light brown sugar, fresh thyme, and dry vermouth are all you need to caramelize these tomatoes. But before sharing just how easy it is to make these blistered tomatoes, let's talk about the vermouth, the dry vermouth. Something we can thank 18th century Northern Italians for creating. Borrowing from Cook's Illustrated description, 'the base of a dry vermouth is white wine, presumably not of particularly high quality; fortified with neutral grape spirits which slightly hike up the alcohol level; and, 'aromatized' with 'botanicals' such as herbs, spices, and fruits.' Relatively inexpensive due to its' low alcohol content, dry vermouth is also called extra-dry vermouth. As a side note, if you ever see a recipe simply calling for vermouth and recommending white wine as a substitute, they are really recommending the use of dry vermouth. Save the sweet stuff red or pink stuff for the Manhattan, Negroni, and Rob Roy.

In a heavy skillet, heat a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil before adding the baby heirloom or cherry tomatoes. Cook, swirling often, over medium heat until the tomatoes begin to blister. or slightly split. When adding the dry vermouth, remove the pan from the heat (remember there is alcohol in it). After stirring the dry vermouth into the tomatoes, return to the heat and add the light brown sugar, sea salt, and fresh thyme. Immediately lower the heat and continue to cook until the juices from the tomatoes, the dry vermouth, and the brown sugar become slightly syrupy. Some of your tomatoes may have fallen completely apart, however, if all of them do, then you 'blistered' them too much before adding in the other ingredients.

The tomatoes can be made midway through the ricotta baking process. If they are done before the ricotta has baked and allowed to rest slightly, remove them from heat and gently reheat before getting ready to serve.

Slice up a fresh baguette into 1/2 inch slices or brush your baguette slices with some extra-virgin olive, season with salt and pepper, and bake in a 350 degree (F) oven for 10-15 minutes (or until they are lightly golden brown). While the baked ricotta is resting, you can throw a sheet pan of prepared baguette slices into the oven.

Baking time on the ricotta, goat cheese, and herb mixture is approximately 40 minutes (it will puff up slightly and have some light brown coloring along the edges and on top). After removing from the oven, allow it to rest for approximately ten (10) minutes before inverting onto your serving platter (again trust me when I say choose a baking dish amenable to inverting).

Top the baked ricotta with your blistered tomatoes and surround with your bread of choice. Garnishing with thyme is optional. While meant to be served warm, this Baked Ricotta with Blistered Tomatoes is still delicious and equally addictive as it comes to room temperature.

My list of all of the things I am thankful for this year continues to grow daily. Unexpected kindnesses, the support and encouragement of family and friends, new friendships, enduring friendships that continue to strengthen over time, and my new appreciation for being healthy are just some of them. And in the words of Thornton Wilder 'We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.' It is with a very grateful heart that I wish all of you a most happy and filled with blessings Thanksgiving.

Recipe
Baked Ricotta with Blistered Tomatoes (inspired by the Runaway Spoon's recipe for Baked Ricotta and Goat Cheese with Candied Tomatoes)

Serves 6-8 as an appetizer

Ingredients
Baked Cheese
15 ounces whole milk ricotta (recommend BelGioioso whole milk ricotta) or use homemade ricotta
4 ounces chevre or goat cheese, room temperature
1 large egg, room temperature
2 Tablespoons fresh thyme (or marjoram or basil)
2-3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
Generous grinding of black pepper
Generous sprinkling of sea salt (or kosher salt)
Extra-virgin olive oil for preparing baking dish

Blistered Tomatoes
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
12-14 ounces baby heirloom tomatoes or cherry tomatoes (mixed colors if possible)
1/4 cup dry or extra dry vermouth
1/4 cup light brown sugar
3 sprigs of thyme
sea salt

Directions
Baked Cheese
1. Place the ricotta in a colander lined with cheese cloth. Allow to drain for at least 30 minutes, pressing down to extract the liquid.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F). Brush inside of a 2 cup baking dish with olive oil.
3. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the drained ricotta, goat cheese, and egg until smooth. Beat in herbs, pepper and salt. Taste for seasonings. Alternately, place all of the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth and creamy (this is my preferred method).
4. Spoon mixture into prepared baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes or until lightly browned and puffed in the center.
5. Allow the cheese to cool for at least 10 minutes. Invert on serving platter.
Note: The baked cheese mixture can be prepared several hours in advance before baking. Remove from refrigerator at least 30 minutes before baking.

Blistered Tomatoes
1. While the cheese is baking, heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. 
2. Add tomatoes, stirring frequently until the skins of the tomatoes begin to split.
3. Briefly remove from heat, add vermouth, then return to heat. 
4. Add brown sugar and herbs, stirring until sugar has melted.
5. Add a generous pinch of sea salt.
6. Lower heat and cook gently until liquid is reduced to a syrupy coating. Note: Some of the tomatoes will begin to fall apart, but not to worry.

Assembly
1. Spoon the blistered tomatoes over the baked ricotta.
2. Serve with crostini or a sliced baguette.

First snowfall at Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois.

Honey and Butter Baked Pears with Cream

For those of you (like me) who don't rank pears up there as one of your favorite fruits or would rather go hungry than eat one, hang in here. But for those of you who love pears, consider this to be your lucky day. For those of you (like me) who have never understood how a bowl of fruit served at the end of a great meal comes even close to qualifying as a dessert, stay with me. But for those of you who discovered the sumptuousness of a fruit dessert years ago, add me to the list of those who envy your food genius.

Yes, I am fully aware we are entering the holiday season. Otherwise known as the weeks of overindulgence, a rationalized eating and drinking bender, and the over-consumption of all foods rich or sweet. So why in the midst of this seasonal food orgy would I even try to convince you to serve a fruit dessert at any one of the dinner parties you will be having in the weeks ahead?  No, contrary to the opinion of a few or for sure at least one, I have not yet lost my senses. Rather I have finally wised up. This newly found, better late than never, wisdom came after taking a single bite of these Honey and Butter Baked Pears with Cream.

This recipe came from one of Denmark's most respected chefs, restauranteurs, and cookbook authors Paul Cunningham. The simplicity of this baked pear dessert is rivaled only by the complexity of its' flavors. Butter, honey, fresh thyme, bay leaves, and some (sea or kosher) salt, and oh let's not forget the little more than a splash of heavy cream, turn anjou pears into a dessert worthy of going on my last meal list. 

Slow roasting the pears at a relatively high temperature caramelizes and causes them to become more deeply flavorful than you think is possible. They ascend to a level of flavorfulness reserved only for those best kind of unexpected surprises. 

There are at least ten kinds of pears, but for this dessert the anjou pear works best as it one holding up well in the baking or roasting process. I used a Green Anjou pear, however, you could also use its' red cousin, the Red Anjou even though there is a slight difference between the two of them. The Red Anjou has been described as being slightly sweeter, milder, and having with hints of sweet spice. However, the citrus notes in the Green Anjou may better compliment the thyme and bay leaves.

While shopping for the pears I came across a slightly smaller version of the Green Anjou Pear. Instead of using eight regular sized Anjou pears, I ended up using eleven of the smaller ones. Coring the pears after they have been peeled and halved lengthwise helps them to retain their beautiful shape. Using a melon baller makes this easier, but a small teaspoon would work as well.

After placing the pears on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, each half is filled with butter, lightly seasoned with salt (I used sea salt), and sprinkled with fresh thyme leaves. Instead of using fresh bay leaves, I used dried ones. By keeping them whole and simply laying over the pear halves, the butter and honey will absorb their flavor.

Drizzle all of the pears with the honey before placing them in a preheated 400 degree (F) oven. The recipe called for a half-cup of honey, however, 1/3 cup seemed to work well. To compliment the citrus notes of the Green Anjou pears I used an Orange Blossom Honey. 

Pure magic happens in the hour these pears roast in the oven. The subtle flavors of the thyme, bay leaves, and honey are infused into the pears as they caramelize. Turning the pears every fifteen (15) minutes helps to ensure their even caramelization. The baking time for the smaller sized pears was an hour exactly. Which means it may take slightly longer for regular sized pears to become tender. 

The sheer beauty of this dessert is merely a prelude to what your palate will experience. Meant to be served as soon as or shortly after the pears come out of the oven, the taste of the warm pears served with heavy cream is nothing short of pure bliss, a most elegant end to any meal. My perception of fruit desserts has now (or should I say finally) undergone a significant paradigm shift. And all it took was a bite of these Honey and Butter Baked Pears with Cream.

I am feeling compelled to get on a plane to Amsterdam and personally thank Paul Cunningham for generously sharing this recipe. But then I would give some of you cause to believe I truly have taken leave of my senses. Deliriousness has a way of fostering impulsive, irrational thoughts.

With pears now in season, it could not be the more perfect time of the year to make this dessert. As hectic as the holidays can sometimes be (at least in my world), a relatively simple to make dessert may be the best gift you can give to yourself. And if you are looking for a perfect end to a dinner with friends, the Honey and Butter Baked Pears with Cream should make it memorable.

Recipe
Honey and Butter Baked Pears with Cream (inspired by chef Paul Cunningham's recipe as shared in the December 2015 issue of Saveur magazine)

Ingredients
11 small or 8 regular sized (green or red) Anjou pears, peeled, halved and cored
8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes to evenly distribute amongst pear halves
Sea salt or kosher salt
5 sprigs of thyme, plus more for garnishing
2 bay leaves (dried or fresh)
1/3 - 1/2 cup Orange Blossom Honey (recommend Savannah Bee's Orange Blossom Honey)
Heavy whipping cream (18-19% fat content), chilled creme fraiche, or double cream

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F). Line a large 12'x17' or 12'x18' rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Arrange pears cut-side up in a single layer. Top each pear half with butter and season lightly with salt.
3. Scatter thyme leaves evenly over the pear halves. Lay the bay leaves over the pears. 
4. Drizzle pears with honey.
5. Bake pears, turning every 15 minutes to coat in butter and honey. Bake until pears are tender and have caramelized (approximately 1 hour for the smaller pears. Baking time for regular sized pears may be slightly longer.)
6. Transfer baked pears to serving dish and/or place 3-4 pours in small bowls. Pour about a tablespoon of cream in each bowl. Garnish with a small spring of thyme. Serve immediately.
Notes: (1) This dessert is recommended to be served hot out of the oven. However, if there are any leftover pears, you can reheat in the microwave before serving again. (2) When lining the baking pan with parchment paper, ensure paper comes up along sides of pan as the butter and honey will seep under the paper. Not only will you lose some of that deliciousness, but it makes for a messier clean-up.

"Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse." Henry Van Dyke