Slow Cooker Maple-Sauced Pears

 

6

pears

1/2

cup packed brown sugar

1/3

cup maple-flavored syrup

1

tablespoon butter or margarine, melted

1

teaspoon orange peel

1/8

teaspoon ground ginger

1

tablespoon cornstarch

2

tablespoons orange juice

• 1 Peel pears. Core pears from bottom, leaving stems attached. Place pears upright in 3 1/2- to 5-quart slow cooker.
• 2 Mix remaining ingredients except cornstarch and orange juice; pour over pears.
• 3 Cover and cook on high heat setting 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until tender.
• 4 Remove pears from cooker; place upright in serving dish or individual dessert dishes.
• 5 Mix cornstarch and orange juice; stir into sauce in cooker. Cover and cook on high heat setting about 10 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Spoon sauce over pears.
  
  Note: This recipe was tested in slow cookers with heating elements in the side and bottom of the cooker, not in cookers that stand only on a heated base. For slow cookers with just a heated base, follow the manufacturer’s directions for layering ingredients and choosing a temperature.