Caramel Pear Tart

 A simple, rustic tart featuring pears with caramel sauce.  

I’m back with more delicious fall flavors. This time I’m all about the pears and caramel.

I saw some of these gorgeous pears on a trip to the grocery store and they were begging to be turned into a dessert. Combined with the caramel sauce that was waiting in the fridge, I knew it would be awesome.

You already know of my love affair with caramel from my caramel stuffed pretzel cookies, but in the past few weeks, it feels like I have made batches and batches of drippy, sticky, sweet caramel.

So get excited because it has all went into recipes for this fall and they are awesome!

Even though it still is 80 or 90 degrees and humid this week, I’ve been experimenting with more pumpkin things than I can count.

I’m still holding off on my first Pumpkin Spice Latte. I like them hot and its still way to warm for me to drink one.

Anyway, back to these simple caramel pear tarts.  They involve a handful of ingredients, are simple to make and are best enjoyed warm from the oven.

Desserts that you can eat right from the oven are my favorites; no waiting around for it to cool and then frost. My favorite way to enjoy this is with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Carmel Pear Tart

I love using fresh, seasonal ingredients in my recipes, and when I saw these cheery, little pears at the grocery store I couldn’t resist featuring them in this simple tart recipe.

To keep the pears the star of this dessert, I kept the other ingredients to a minimum, a bit of cinnamon, nutmeg, and a drizzle of caramel.

If you are comfortable making a pie crust, this recipe will be a snap for you. If pie crust making challenges you, there is always the route of buying a pre-made crust.

With a little bit of practice, I promise that you can whip out your own lovely pie crusts easily. This dessert is best served warm from the oven, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream if desired.

Caramel Pear Tart Recipe

Crust Ingredients

1 and 1/2 cup all purpose flour

3/4 tsp salt

2 T sugar

1/2 cup shortening

1/4 cup ice cold water

Filling Ingredients

4 cups of peeled and thinly sliced pears

1 T corn starch

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/3 cup caramel sauce, homemade or store-bought

1 egg, beaten

• In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, salt and sugar. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until pea sized crumbs form. Sprinkle the cold water over the mixture, lightly stirring with a fork until dough forms into a ball. Avoid over mixing or handling the dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour. This makes it much easier to handle.
• Preheat oven to 400 F. Toss together the pears, corn starch, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl until they are coated. Set aside. Roll out the dough on a floured surface into a 12 inch circle. Transfer onto a flat cookie sheet. Arrange the pears on the dough, leaving a 3 inch space around the edge. Drizzle the caramel sauce over the pears.
• Gently fold the rim of the dough over the pears. Brush with the beaten egg. Bake for 20-23 minutes or until pears are tender and the crust is golden brown. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream if desired.

{This recipe was originally shared 9/3/14 as a guest post for Mandy’s Recipe Box.}

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