Place granulated sugar, water and cinnamon in a skillet; stir until sugar dissolves, add pecans; cook on medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Once syrup has cooked away, you are left with sweetened, sticky pecans (only takes a few minutes). Remove pecans from skillet; place them on aluminum foil to dry (don't let them touch each other) for a few minutes. Turn them over to dry the other side. The sugary glaze will firm up as they cool, then you can peel them off the foil. Let them dry until ready to add to the salad; it only takes a few minutes..
Place all ingredients (except for the poppyseeds) in a small jar with a tight lid. Place the lid on the container... and shake the jar hard for about 30 seconds (while holding the lid on tightly) until dressing has fully combined. Add poppyseeds, then put lid back on and give jar a few more good shakes to fully blend the ingredients.
Place chilled baby spinach leaves onto serving plates. Top with dried cranberries and several thin slices of red onion. Slice half of the ripe pear into thin slices, leaving peel ON. Crumble goat cheese. Add pear slices to top of salad, fanning them out for best presentation. Sprinkle with crumbled goat cheese, then add candied pecans. Drizzle salad dressing over the salad... and serve!
Caloric calculation shown does NOT include salad dressing, as people enjoy varying amounts of salad dressing on their salads. The caloric calculation for the dressing is approximately 51 calories per Tablespoon.
Spinach Pear Salad https://www.thegratefulgirlcooks.com/spinach-pear-salad/