Pear pie....make just like apple pie but with pears...
Make a crust, peel and slice about 5 pears and pile into crust, mix 2 T flour with 3 T sugar and sprinkle over pears, dot with butter and sprinkle on cinnamon and top with another crust or a streusel topping.
Bake at 425 for 10 minutes and turn down oven to 375 for another 25.

Linda C

My MIL use to make pear sauce and baked pears just like you do with apples. I would think you could use pears in place of apples in most recipes. How about some pear jelly or jam?

You might want to post this over on the Harvest Forum, where you'll learn ways of canning pears; ranging from whole to as spreads. Pear butter is fantastic, btw. Here's one way of making it:

2 qts pear pulp (about 20 medium pears)
4 cups sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
1 tsp grated orange zest
1/2 tsp nutmeg

To make the pulp, quarter and core the pears. Cook until soft, adding only enough water to keep them from sticking. Press through a food mill.

Add remaining ingrients and cook until thick, about 35 minutes. As it thickens stir frequently to prevent sticking.

Pour into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust caps. Process pints and quarts 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.

I often make poached pears with chocolate/raspberry sauce. This doesn't use up a whole lot of them, but you're welcome to the recipe if you want.

PEAR BREAD (1 loaf)
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup buttermilk or yogurt
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh pears with skins

Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9" loaf pan. In a large bowl, using a mixer, cream the butter & sugar together until light & fluffy. Add the eggs & vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda & nutmeg. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the buttermilk, mixing gently but thoroughly. Gently stir in the pears. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Bake 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.~~More than a Tea Party

PEAR DUMPLINGS W/CREAM CUSTARD (serves 6)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 stick butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup + 1 1/2 tsp sugar
3 ripe pears, peeled, halved & cored
1 egg, separated
2 cups heavy cream
4 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
Mint leaves (if you have them)

Preheat oven to 375°. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, butter & cream cheese. Knead by hand until blended. On a lightly floured surface, roll 1/2 the pastry to 1/8" thickness, using a floured rolling pin. Cut six 7" circles from the rolled out pastry.
Mix the cinnamon with 1 1/2 tsp sugar in a small bowl & sprinkle evenly over the pastry circles. Place a pear half, cut side up, in the middle of each pastry circle. Fold the pastry around the pears, brush the pastry with egg white & place seam side down on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake the dumplings 30 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven & cool slightly on a wire rack.
For the custard: Combine the cream, cornstarch, salt, egg yolk & 1/4 cup sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the custard coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat, add the vanilla & allow to cool.
When ready to serve, pool some custard on a dessert plate & place a dumpling on top. Garnish the dumpling with mint to resemble a pear leaf. Dumplings & custard may be made ahead of time & refrigerated separately to be served chilled later.~~Rouge River Rendezvous

PEARS MELBA (serves 4)
3 cups water
One 3" cinnamon stick
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 TBL fresh lemon juice (reserve 1/2 tsp)
One 1x3" piece lemon rind (yellow part only)
4 large pears, stems intact, peeled, halved & cored
1 TBL cornstarch
10 oz frozen raspberries, thawed, drained, reserve juice
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
2 tsp sugar
Mint leaves

In a large skillet combine water, cinnamon stick, vanilla, 1 TBL lemon juice & rind. Bring water to high simmer; add pears & poach, covered for 10 minutes. (Can be prepared up to this point, covered & chilled overnight.) Add cornstarch to reserved raspberry juice; heat until slightly thickened. Add berries; cool.
Puree cottage cheese, reserved lemon juice & sugar until smooth & creamy. Matching halves, fill each pear half with 2 TBL cheesemixture; stand upright on a plate & press halves together. Level bottom, if necessary, by cutting off a thin slice. Spoon 2 TBL raspberry sauce over each pear. Place mint leaf at each stem. May be chilled several hours.~~from Sounds Delicious

PEAR UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE
1 stick + 4 TBL butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 pears, peeled & cut in half
1/4 cup pecans
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup milk
Whipped cream

Preheat oven to 375°. Melt the 4 TBL butter in a 9" square baking pan & sprinkle w/the brown sugar. Arrange the pear halves & pecans in a desinnnng on top of the sugared butter.
Cream the remaining butter w/the granulated sugar & beat in the egg & vanilla. Sift together the flour, baking powder & salt & add alternately w/the milk.
Spoon the batter carefully over the pears. Bake about 35 minutes or until done. Let cake stand 5 minutes before inverting onto a serving platter. Serve warm w/whipped cream.~~Craig Claiborne

PEAR VINAIGRETTE
1/2 cup chopped, peeled fresh pear
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 scant tsp Asian sesame oil
2 TBL orange juice
3 TBL olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Combine the pear & vinegar in a processor container & process until smooth. Add the sesame oil & orange juice & proces until well mixed. Add the olive oil gradually, processing constantly until combined. Season w/salt & pepper. Store in the refrigerator up to 2 days.~~Oh My Stars

PEAR CRISP (serves 6)
6 ripe pears, peeled, cored & sliced
1 TBL lemon juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup brown sugar

Place pears in a greased 2 qt baking dish. Toss pears w/lemon juice, cinnamon & nutmeg. In a bowl, combine flour & butter until mixture resembles crumbs. Add oats & brown sugar. Stir well; sprinkle over pears. Bake in a preheated 375° oven for 20-25 minutes or until browned & pears are tender. Serve w/ice cream or whipped cream.~~Food for Thought

thank you all so much, my sister will be very happy :)

You're most welcome!

My favorite dessert is pear maple cobbler, and Readinglady gave me the recipe for my favorite preserve of all time, pears. I also have a recipe for a very nice pear chutney.

Individual Maple Pear Cobblers
Courtesy of: Rebecca Rather, Chef, Rather Sweet Bakery and Cafe

6 servings

3 pounds pears, peeled, cored, quartered
2/3 cup + 9 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons + 1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
9 tablespoons whipping cream
melted butter
sugar to taste
nutmeg to taste

For the filling, combine the pears, 2/3 cup syrup, 2 tablespoons flour, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg in a bowl and mix well. Divide evenly among 6 custard cups or soufflé dishes. Place a pat of butter on top of each one. Bake at 425 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes or until heated through. For the topping, place the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg in a food processor. Add 6 tablespoons butter and pulse until fine crumbs form. Add the cream, 9 tablespoons syrup and 1 teaspoon vanilla and process until combined. Drop by spoonfuls onto the hot filling. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar and nutmeg. Bake for 14 minutes or until firm to the touch and golden brown.

Pear and Currant Chutney

Makes 2 ½ - 3 cups
1 cup dried currants
6 tbls pear brandy
4 pears, peeled, cored and cut into ½" pieces
2 ribs celery, cut into 1/2" pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
3 3 1/2 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
pinch cayenne

Put currants and brandy into a medium saucepan and simmer over medium heat until currants are plump and have absorbed most of the liquor, about 7 minutes. Add pears, celery, sugar, lemon juice, ginger and cayenne and stir well. Return to simmer, reduce head to medium low and simmer until pears are very soft and translucent and juices are thick and syrupy, about 1 hour.

Put chutney into a clean jar with a tight lid or hot water bath 10 minutes. If not processed, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Allow chutney to sit for a couple of weeks, the flavor improves with age.

Old Fashioned Pear Preserves from Carol (Readinglady)

You can also make Pear Preserves if you want chunks of pear suspended in syrup. By weight use equal amounts of pears and sugar. You also need the juice and seeds of one lemon. I wouldn't go over about 4 pounds of fruit because it takes too long to cook larger amounts. This takes several days, but it's mainly waiting and the results are wonderful. Here's what you do:

Day 1: Peel, core and cut firm-ripe pears into chunks or slices. Leave pieces large enough to retain character in preserves. Place pears in acidified water (Fruit Fresh or Ascorbic Acid).

Rinse and drain pears. Place in large bowl and add sugar equal in weight to pears. Add juice of lemon and place pips (seeds) in small bag. It's messy but I also add any of the pulp that was reamed out. Add to bowl. Stir gently
to distribute syrup and refrigerate overnight. Throughout evening stir occasionally to distribute sugar. (I usually don't do this more than once.)

Day 2: Place macerated pears and sugar syrup with lemon seeds in bag in large pan. Bring to a boil and cook about 10 minutes, skimming foam. Reduce temperature and continue to cook (about 20 minutes) until pears are translucent and candied. Turn off heat and leave pears and syrup overnight.
(This can be room temperature.) Cover pan with a cloth, not a lid (to prevent condensation).

Day 3: Using a slotted spoon lift pears from syrup and place in a strainer. Collect any additional syrup in a bowl beneath the strainer. (I drained syrup left in pan into a bowl and washed the pan because the syrup was
crystallized along the rim then I put the syrup back.) Bring syrup to a boil and cook to gel point stirring frequently. (Depending on how thick you want the syrup, this can be anywhere from 218-222°.) You can also use the frozen plate test.

The advantage is you get to thicken the syrup just the way you like without cooking the delicate pears to the point of disintegration.

Return the pears to syrup and boil 1 minute to reheat them. Pull off heat and let sit for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. (This allows fruit to equalize with the syrup so it doesn't float to the top of the jar.)

Place preserves in sterilized jars and BWB 5 minutes or clean, hot jars and BWB 10 minutes.

I do use somewhat less sugar in these preserves and they keep chunks of the pears.

Lucky sister, with all those pears.

Annie

My two favorites, one savory and one sweet:

{{gwi:2048160}}

Peel and slice pears of your choice. Toss lightly with olive oil, kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Lie in a single layer on a baking pan and roast in a 400° oven until golden brown.

Marilyn

{{gwi:2048163}}

4 large ripe pears; peeled and thinly sliced
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a bowl, combine pears (very ripe red or canned), 1/3 cup sugar, cornstarch and pinch of salt and pepper. Pour into buttered pie plate. Combine cheese, flour, butter, 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt until crumbly; sprinkle over filling. Bake at 375° for 25 to 35 minutes or until cheese is melted and top is lightly browned. Cool 10 minutes. Serve warm

Marilyn

I've made Marilyn's Roasted Pears a number of times and we thoroughly enjoy them.

One thing that I made when I had a lot of pears to use up is to make pear applesauce. I used about half and half apples and pears and cooked them down and ran through the food mill and canned them in water bath canner:)

Stacie