Pear Pie Bars #FabulousFallBounty

I haven’t been doing much baking since having my baby. I just don’t have the time while he is awake and when he’s sleeping we try to be as quiet as possible so we don’t wake him up. He isn’t quite 3 months old yet so he isn’t on a schedule and can nap up to 6 times a day so we never know when his down time will be. This means I have no idea when I can get into the kitchen and start baking.

I do miss it though and so I’ve been trying to bake something at least every other week. That is way down from baking between 2 and 4 things every single weekend but it’s a good stress reliever and it makes me feel like myself. So when I received a box of fall produce from Melissa’s Produce I was thrilled to find some delicious looking pears in the box.

I love baking with pears. They add a nice sweetness to baked goods and can be put into just about any recipe in place of apples but they give it a different flavor. Pears are great with oats, cinnamon, and caramel. It makes me think of fall just typing that!

These Pear Pie Bars are so good. The crust is a buttery shortbread that is crumbly and delicious. It’s topped off with the diced pears tossed in cinnamon and sugar. Then there is a crunchy topping that gets sprinkled over top of the entire thing. It comes together pretty easily.

Once the bars came out I cut them into pieces and drizzled half of them with caramel. They were amazing. The crust is buttery, the pears soft and juicy, and the topping gives it a sweet crunch. The caramel adds additional sweetness and flavor. The entire bar is like fall on your tongue and they look gorgeous on this platter from Le Creuset!

Pear Pie Bars #FabulousFallBounty

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour

A buttery shortbread crust topped with juicy pears and a crumble topping.

Author: Heather Lynne

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 12 bars

Ingredients

For the crust:

1 stick butter, softened
1¼ c. flour
⅓ c. sugar
1 t. salt
½ c. oats

For the filling:

3 pears, diced
2 T. sugar
1 t. cinnamon

For the topping:

1 stick butter, softened
1 c. flour
1 c. oats
½ c. brown sugar
1 t. cinnamon
½ c. caramel sauce (optional)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 9 baking dish with foil. Set aside.
In a medium bowl combine all the ingredients for the crust and mix until combined. Press into the bottom of the prepared baking dish and bake for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, toss the pears with the sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl and set aside.
Combine all ingredients for the topping in a medium bowl and mix with your fingers until a coarse crumble results.
Once the crust is finished baking remove from oven. Place the pears on top of the crust. Sprinkle with the topping.
Bake for an additional 25-30 minutes or until the topping is browned. Remove from oven and cool completely.
Cut into 12 squares and drizzle with caramel if desired.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Crazy for Crust