Author Notes: I developed these pear chips for an iron chef competition a couple years back. The secret ingredient was cocoa, my fridge was near-empty save for a couple of pears, and I had an hour. I used galangal, which is a bit spicy like ginger, but also delightfully fruity. The result was unexpectedly delicious, the perfect thing to have out on a table during an open house. – Rivka —Rivka
Food52 Review: These pear crisps aren’t the most obvious “Open House Dish,” until you taste them, and then all becomes clear: you don’t want to be eating big baked dishes at an open house. You want somewhat light, intensely flavored food that can be eaten out of hand. The flavor of these delicious pears, which are seasoned with cocoa and spices, concentrates as they bake, and you end up with a chip that’s warped and brown, like a fossilized pear. Don’t bake them too long — you want crisp edges and slightly chewy centers. Then pile them into a bowl, and make sure you tell your guests they’re edible! They’ll love you forever. – A&M —The Editors
Makes: about 60 crisps
Ingredients
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3
very firm pears
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3
tablespoons sugar
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3/4
teaspoon powdered galangal, optional
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1/4
teaspoon ground ginger (if not using galangal, increase this to 1 teaspoon)
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3/4
teaspoon cinnamon
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2
tablespoons cocoa
Directions
- Preheat oven to 275°F. Halve each pear and use a melon baller to scoop out the core (including the stem).
- Set a mandoline to the 1/8-inch setting, and slice each pear half into about 10 very thin slices. Occasionally, the 1/8-inch setting will cause the pears to mush or crumble. In this case, the 1/4-inch setting will work, though the crisps will need an extra 15 minutes or so in the oven.
- Mix sugar and spices in small bowl. Place pear slices on rack set over baking sheet. Alternatively, place slices on silpat-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle the tops with spiced sugar. Bake until almost dry, about 1 hour, turning the slices over and the sheets around half way through to ensure even baking. Cool on rack or sheet. Store airtight up to 2 days.
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Galangal (optional — it's the odd shard in the upper left!), cinnamon, cocoa, pear, ground ginger.
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Core the pears first, then slice them on a mandoline. You want them slightly thinner than 1/8 inch.
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Amanda cuts the cores from a few slices of pear. It's easier to do this to an entire half, rather than slice by slice. Amanda likes a challenge.
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Merrill grinds the galangal in a coffee-cum-spice grinder.
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The sugar-and-spice mixture.
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Walker stealthily snags some pear scraps while we consult on the recipe.
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You lay the pear slices on cooling racks set atop a baking sheet.
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Merrill arranges the pears. That's Amanda's family's Christmas tree in the distance.
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Sprinkling the pears with the cocoa mixture. We're about 5 minutes into the recipe and we're almost done all the work.
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Pre-oven.
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Post-oven.
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