Sea Salted Caramel Pears
- 3 medium pears, about 3" by 2", not too firm, not too ripe
- 3 sturdy 31/2" cinnamon sticks, or strong maple or oak twigs
- 8 ounces good-quality caramels (I use Werther's)
- 4 teaspoons heavy cream
- coarse sea salt, or have your salt grinder at the ready
- three 41/2" squares of waxed paper
- Wash pears and dry very well. Pinch off the stems. Carefully push cinnamon sticks into tops of pears. Set aside.
- Line a cookie sheet or large dinner plate with parchment paper and set near saucepan.
- Place salt in a small shallow dish and set near saucepan.
- Place caramels and heavy cream in small saucepan and melt over low heat.
- When caramel is smooth, take one pear at a time and as deftly as possible, dunk into caramel, tilting saucepan and spooning mixture as needed, covering 3/4 of the pear. It looks nice if some of the green/red skin is showing.
- Quickly lean your pear into the salt, covering just a small area. Don't overdo the sea salt. Gently run a spatula under bottom of pear to scrape off excess. Place pear on parchment. Repeat with remaining pears. Or, instead of dipping into the coarse salt, you can grind a dusting of salt over the coated pear for a finer finish, which I prefer.
- Pour any leftover caramel onto some waxed paper, grind some salt over, and refrigerate until firm. This is the cook's treat.
- Chill pears in refrigerator for about an hour. Transfer each pear to a wax paper square and place on serving plate.
- Happy Hallowe'en!
cinnamon, caramels, heavy cream, salt, three
Taken from food52.com/recipes/7108-sea-salted-caramel-pears (may not work)