What should you do if you've got excess fruit and not much time? Consider my easy recipes for three fruit classics.
Three Classics Made Super Easy
Here are tips on selecting the best fruit for each of the desserts:
For roasted pears:
All major varieties--Bartlett, Bosc, red, Anjou--work equally well. However, Bosc roasts up slightly firmer than the others.
For pear crisp:
Actually, this dessert is best with jarred pears, which usually can be found in the produce department's refrigerated section. It takes more than two jars to get the amount of fruit you need. Each jar is pricey, so you may want to buy only two jars and fill out the rest with less-expensive canned pears.
For apple dumplings:
Don't use Red Delicious. Make the dumplings with any of your favorite firm or soft apple varieties--just remember to choose small apples. You also can substitute pears.