Sea Salted Caramel Pears

Directions

1. Wash pears and dry very well. Pinch off the stems. Carefully push cinnamon sticks into tops of pears. Set aside.
2. Line a cookie sheet or large dinner plate with parchment paper and set near saucepan.
3. Place salt in a small shallow dish and set near saucepan.
4. Place caramels and heavy cream in small saucepan and melt over low heat.
5. 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 ¾ of the pear. It looks nice if some of the green/red skin is showing.
6. 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.
7. Pour any leftover caramel onto some waxed paper, grind some salt over, and refrigerate until firm. This is the cook’s treat.
8. Chill pears in refrigerator for about an hour. Transfer each pear to a wax paper square and place on serving plate.
9. Happy Hallowe’en!