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1
Make the hens: About 2 hours before serving, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
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2
Cover the bottom of a large shallow baking pan with the onion rounds.
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3
Tie together the legs of each hen with cotton string.
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4
Arrange the hens, breast side up, on top of the onion rounds, leaving some space around each bird so the skin will crisp.
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5
Season with salt and pepper.
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6
Make the glaze: Mix all the glaze ingredients (except salt and pepper) together in a small bowl.Spoon about 2 teaspoons of the mixture over each hen.
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7
Place the pan of hens in the preheated oven and reduce the heat to 325 degrees.
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8
Roast the hens for 30 minutes, basting with their pan juices once or twice.
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9
Then raise the heat back to 400 degrees, baste each hen with about 2 tablespoons of sauce, and continue roasting and basting with pan juices for 20 more minutes, or unril the thickest part of the breast reads 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.
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10
At this point spoon a bit more sauce over the hens and run them under the broiler briefly, so they turn a deep, rich brown.
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11
Watch them carefully so they don't burn.
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12
Remove the hens from the pan to a platter and let them rest in a warm placefor 10 to 15 minutes.
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13
Set the hens' roasting pan on two burners and remove the onions from the pan.
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14
Add any remaining basting sauce/glaze to the pan and raise the heat to medium-high.
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15
Using a wooden spatula, scrape any brown bits sticking to the pan and stir as you boil the pan sauce for 3 minutes, or until it's rich tasting and almost syrupy.
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16
Taste and adjust for seasoning.
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17
To serve the hens, place them on a warm platter, scrape the reduced pan juices over them, and scatter with the optional pine nuts.
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18
Serve hot.
