Adapted slightly from The Splenda® World of Sweetness: Recipes for homemade desserts and delicious drinks, the recipe calls for maple extract, which I don't keep in the pantry. Instead, Ted substituted maple syrup; to keep the dish completely sugar-free, he could have used vanilla extract. We loved the maple flavor, and served the warm pears with no-sugar-added vanilla ice cream, which melted into the syrup in a most irresistible way. Serves 6-8.
Nonstick spray
4 ripe Bosc pears
1/4 cup granulated Splenda® or other artificial sweetener
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp maple extract or vanilla extract (or maple syrup)
1/2 cup orange juice
Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray the inside of a large casserole dish with the cooking spray.
Wash the pears. Cut in half lengthwise, leaving the stems attached. Use a melon baller to remove the core. Place cut side down in the casserole dish.
In a small bowl, combine the Splenda, lemon juice, butter, cinnamon and maple extract. Spoon the mixture over the pears, and turn the pears to coat them on both sides. Place them cut side down again, and pour the orange juice around the pears.
Bake, uncovered, basting every 10 minutes with the juices in the pan, until the pears are tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife, 40-45 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature, drizzled with the pan juices.