Butterscotch Pear and Pecan Dumplings with Caramel Sauce

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Butterscotch Pear and Pecan Dumplings take a delicious ripe pear and stuff it with pecans, cranberries, and chocolate then wrap it up in a flaky crust and drizzle it with caramel sauce.

A plate with a golden brown pie dough wrapped pear the has two crust leaves on top that is drizzled with caramel sauce on a white background.

I was sent a box of Melissa’s Produce but all opinions are my own.

This week the ingredient Melissa’s Produce is highlighting is Butterscotch Pears.  Butterscotch Pears are imported from South Korea.  These pears are known to be juicy, crisp, and sweet with a texture like apples.  The skin is thin as well so every bite tastes like pure pear.   My toddler doesn’t eat regular pears but I’m pretty sure he was convinced these were apples because he ate a ton of them!

The recipe for this week is Butterscotch Pear and Pecan Dumplings.   I don’t know about you but I love a good dumpling.  There’s something about a sweet and soft fruit wrapped in a flaky, buttery crust. This recipe takes it to a whole new level because it’s stuffed with goodies!

Pin Image: A plate with a golden brown pie dough wrapped pear the has two crust leaves on top that is drizzled with caramel sauce on a white background, text overlay, a cutting board with two pears in the upper left hand corner, a cup of brown sugar in the upper right hand corner, a plate in the center with bowls of chocolate, pecans, and cranberries, and a stick of butter on the bottom.

The original recipe called for the pears to be stuffed with brown sugar and pecans but because it’s the holidays I added in some chocolate chips and dried cranberries too.  I figured that would be the perfect compliment to these pears.

For this recipe you will need:

  • flour
  • butter
  • salt
  • pecans
  • brown sugar
  • dried cranberries
  • chocolate chips
  • Butterscotch Pears
  • egg

The pears are huge so even with cutting them in half and stuffing them you could easily share a pear half with someone else.  To start simply cut the pears in half and scoop out part of the center.   I’m glad I made a bigger hole so that I could stuff more into these pears.

Then I made the dough.  It’s a really basic dough recipe and reminds me of making pie crust.  I mixed everything together until it just sticks together and then refrigerate for at least an hour. 

The last thing to do is make the filling.  The original recipe combines butter, brown sugar, and pecans which I know would be fabulous but I wanted a little bit more.  I added in dried cranberries for some tartness and some chocolate chips because who doesn’t like chocolate?

A plate with a pie crust covered pear that is cut in half and at the bottom is stuffed with pecans, chocolate, and cranberries with a fork behind the pear and caramel drizzled over top of it.

I rolled out the dough and cut it into six pieces.   Then I placed a pear half on top of each dough.   Carefully I spooned the filling mixture into the scooped out hole in the pear until it was full.  Then I wrapped the dough around each pear, sealed it, and placed it face down on a baking sheet.

If you have extra dough you can make decorations to put on your pear.   I cut out little leaves and berries to put on top and it was perfect.   The dough baked up golden brown and looked lovely.

While you can make your own caramel sauce to drizzle on top I just used my favorite jarred sauce and it was the perfect topper for this dessert.   The pears soften but are still firm and hold their shape, the crust is golden and crisp, and the filling is sweet, tart, and out of this world.  This may be the perfect holiday dessert.

Pro Tips & Substitutions:

  • Don’t have time to make your own dough?   You can use 2 refrigerated pie crusts instead.  Just roll them out thinner than they come and use like you would the homemade dough.
  • Play around with the filling.   If you just want to use butter, brown sugar, and pecans go for it.   Try white chocolate and cranberries.  Another good combination would be butterscotch chips and walnuts.
A plate with a pie crust covered pear that is cut in half and at the bottom is stuffed with pecans, chocolate, and cranberries with a fork behind the pear and caramel drizzled over top of it.

Butterscotch Pear and Pecan Dumplings with Caramel Sauce

Yield: serves 6
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Butterscotch Pear and Pecan Dumplings take a delicious ripe pear and stuff it with pecans, cranberries, and chocolate then wrap it up in a flaky crust and drizzle it with caramel sauce.

Ingredients

For the Pâte Brisée:

  • 2 1/2 c. flour
  • 1/2 t. salt
  • 1 c. (2 sticks) cold butter, diced
  • 6-8 Tablespoons ice water

For the Pear Dumplings:

  • 1/3 c. pecans, finely chopped
  • 1/4 c. chocolate chips
  • 1/4 c. dried cranberries
  • 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon butter, melted and cooled
  • 3 Butterscotch Pears, halved
  • 1 egg
  • caramel sauce

Instructions

  1. To make the Pâte Brisée combine the flour and salt in a bowl.
  2. Add the butter and use your hands to mix it into the flour until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
  3. Add in 6 tablespoons of ice water and stir. Press the mixture together to form a dough. If the mixture is too crumbly add a little more water.
  4. Shape the dough into a flat disk shape and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
  5. One the dough is chilled preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  6. To make the dumplings combine the pecans, chocolate chips, cranberries, brown sugar, and butter in a medium bowl.
  7. Using a small spoon, scoop out the core of each pear half and make a tablespoon sized hole.
  8. Pack the hole with the pecan chocolate mixture.
  9. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces.
  10. Roll each piece out on a floured surface to a 1/8 inch thick circle.
  11. Place a pear half, cut side up, in the center of each circle.
  12. Wrap the pear in the dough, overlapping and pressing the dough to seal the openings. Cut off any extra pastry.
  13. Place the pear, seam side down, on the baking sheet.
  14. If you have any remaining scraps you can roll them out and cut them into decorations.
  15. Whisk the egg in a small bowl and add a tablespoon of water.
  16. Use the egg wash to attach the decorations to the dough.
  17. Brush the egg wash all over the pastry dough.
  18. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Allow to cool for 20 minutes.
  19. Drizzle with caramel sauce.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Bigger, Bolder, Better

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 379Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 41mgSodium: 274mgCarbohydrates: 63gFiber: 4gSugar: 20gProtein: 8g

A plate with a golden brown circle with two leaves on top sitting on a white background.

 

 

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