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!
- 1 stick butter, softened
- 1¼ c. flour
- ⅓ c. sugar
- 1 t. salt
- ½ c. oats
- 3 pears, diced
- 2 T. sugar
- 1 t. cinnamon
- 1 stick butter, softened
- 1 c. flour
- 1 c. oats
- ½ c. brown sugar
- 1 t. cinnamon
- ½ c. caramel sauce (optional)
- 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.

I received a box of produce from Melissa’s Produce and a platter from Le Creuset but all opinions are 100% my own.
Wendy Klik says
These sound amazing. Can’t believe it’s already 3 months!!