Spiced Pear Bars
Spiced pear crumble bars are an easy way to showcase beautiful fall pears! A delicate, unexpected spice blend makes them super special.
Servings: 12 servings
Equipment
- 9" square baking pan
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 2 cups diced fresh pear (I diced my pears about 1/3", you should need 2-3 medium sized pears)
- 1 tsp lemon juice (optional; adds a bit of acidity to the pears and helps them not turn brown)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Butter your 9 inch square baking pan and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a food processor, add the 2 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1/4 tsp allspice, 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg, and 1/2 tsp ground ginger. Pulse just to get everything evenly incorporated.
- Cut the 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature into tablespoon-sized pieces, and add to the food processor along with the 1 tsp vanilla extract. Pulse until the dough comes together into a soft dough (it will still be somewhat crumbly).
- Take about 2/3 of the dough and press it into the bottom of a 9x9 square baking pan. Try to cover the whole bottom surface, using your hands to lightly pat the dough down. You can also use the bottom of a cup measure to help press it evenly down.
- Add the remaining third of the dough to a small bowl and mix it with the 1/4 cup chopped walnuts. Set aside.
- Toss the 2 cups diced fresh pear (I diced my pears about 1/3", you should need 2-3 medium sized pears)with the 1 tsp lemon juice briefly. Spread the diced pears over the layer of shortbread dough in your pan.
- Top with the rest of the dough, crumbling it evenly across the layer of pears. Don't worry if the fruit shows through the crumbles, that's fine.
- Bake for about 40-45 minutes until the top is starting to turn light brown around the edges and you can hear the fruit bubbling.
- Let the crumble bars cool before gently removing from the pan using the parchment paper liner. (If you did not use parchment paper, I would advise serving straight from the pan.)
Nutrition
Calories: 279 kcal · Carbohydrates: 30 g · Protein: 3 g · Fat: 17 g · Saturated Fat: 10 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 4 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 41 mg · Sodium: 102 mg · Potassium: 84 mg · Fiber: 2 g · Sugar: 12 g · Vitamin A: 480 IU · Vitamin C: 1 mg · Calcium: 21 mg · Iron: 1 mg
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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