Fruit Dessert

These pears may be refrigerated in their cooking liquid overnight.

This recipe makes 3 peach and 3 cherry crisps. The ice cream is made by mixing cinnamon into store-bought vanilla ice cream and refreezing it. We call for fresh cherries, but frozen ones will work just as well; you’ll need to adjust amounts in step 3: Reduce the brown sugar to 1/3 cup and increase the cornstarch to 2 tablespoons.

This recipe is versatile. You can use any firm-flesh pears or apples—or a combination; just be sure the size of the fruits you use is uniform. You can also try another dry whole spice (such as cinnamon or cloves) in place of the star anise.

Sabayon is the French term for zabaglione, a frothy Italian concoction that can be served warm as a sauce or chilled as a creamy dessert on its own. We added a bit of peach-flavored liqueur to enhance the flavor of the fruit, but the sabayon is just as delicious without.

The steeping liquid needs to chill for at least 4 hours, so plan accordingly.

Easy to prepare, this vibrant pink fruit salad can be served on its own or spooned over a scoop of vanilla ice cream or your favorite sorbet.

Bosc pears must be very ripe; Anjou, which are juicier, can be slightly firm. Avoid enamel baking dishes, as they cause the syrup to burn.