- Yields: 12 tarts
- Ingredient Notes: Vegetarian, Corn-free, Dairy-free, Peanut-free, Soy-free
Ingredients
- 1 cup hazelnut butter (like peanut butter, made from hazelnuts)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons brandy or cognac (optional)
- 2 eggs, divided
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 package frozen puff pastry, 3 sheets thawed
- 3 firm-ripe pears (red Bartletts are a colorful contrast)
- 1/2 cup demerara or turbinado sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Powdered sugar, for sprinkling
Directions
Preheat oven to 425° F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
To make hazelnut praline, combine hazelnut butter, brown sugar, brandy or cognac and 1 egg. Mix well and set aside.
In a small bowl, beat remaining egg with water, and set aside. (This is called an egg wash.)
Unfold pastry sheets on a work surface. Cut each sheet into four squares and brush lightly with egg wash. Spoon about 2 tablespoons praline into the center of each square, spreading into a 2-inch circle.
Cut the stem and blossom end off of each pear. Cut pears into quarters lengthwise and remove center cores. Cut each quarter in 1/8-inch slices crosswise, keeping slices together as best you can. Using a spatula or a table knife, place one (sliced) pear quarter in the center of each of the pastry squares, fanning them lightly.
Sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar. Fold edges of the pastry up around the filling, leaving pears mostly exposed. Brush outside of the pastry lightly with egg wash. Sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar. Place pastries on prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until pastry is deep golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
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