Mini Pear Tarts

With Thanksgiving approaching we’re all starting to plan our menus, figure out how to squeeze 20+ friends and family members into our tiny homes, how to keep said friends and family members from feuding, and of course trying to keep ourselves sane through all of it!

I’m here to help!

A few weeks ago when I made my Mini Pecan Pies, I doubled my pie crust recipe in case I had extra filling. I didn’t which left me wondering what to do with all this leftover dough. We had pears that had been sitting in the fridge for a few weeks and I knew they would be heading for the compost very soon. I decided to cook them up in some butter, brown sugar, and spices for Mini Pear Tarts!

Warm, sweet, spiced pear filling, buttery flaky crust, and topped off with a healthy dose of whipped cream makes for an amazing fall dessert.. and the best part is they can be made several days in advance! They’ll keep for up to 4 days making your Thanksgiving anxiety diminish by just a bit. Now all you have to worry about is keeping Grandma away from the wine and your weird uncle from taking his pants off before dessert..

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(makes 1 dozen)

Ingredients:

For Tart Crust:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into small pieces

For Filling:

1 cup (2 pears) diced bosc pears

2 Tbs unsalted butter

2 Tbs brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

Pinch of salt

Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C) and butter a 12 cup muffin tin.

Combine pie crust ingredients in a large bowl. Using your hands, mix until dough forms into a ball and no flour or powdered sugar is visible.

Place a tablespoon or two full of dough in each muffin cup and press down with your thumbs, spreading dough up the sides, to form a mini tart shell.

Place in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and use the bottom of a shot glass or back of a spoon to squish down the center.

Place back in the oven for 1-2 minutes or until edges just start to lightly brown. Place on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then carefully remove mini crusts from muffin tin and place on cooling rack for an additional 5 minutes. After they’re done cooling, transfer to a baking sheet.

While waiting on the crusts to bake you can prepare your filling.

In a skillet over medium heat, melt butter, add brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and diced pears. Stir until evenly coated and simmer mixture for 5-6 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and spoon mix into prepared tart shells. Switch oven to broiler setting (500 degrees F) and place tarts in the oven.

Broil for 2-3 minutes or until mixture is bubbly and crusts are golden brown on edges. Serve right away or make ahead. Just cover and refrigerate until ready to eat. Heat the oven to 200 degrees F and place tarts back in to warm up for 5-10 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!