Abby and I finally got around to watching Julie & Julia last week, so naturally, I was inspired to make some fabulous culinary creation. While it might not have been as fancy as Julia’s special Beef Bourguignon, or a Chocolate Soufflé, this pear tart was definitely worth trying. Pies can have the tendency to be almost a little too sweet sometimes. Don’t get me wrong, I have a major sweet tooth. But, there are some meals where the major sugar extravaganza is just a bit overwhelming. This weekend I was feeling that, and this pear tart provided *just* enough sweetness to complete the meal.

As with most recipes, I really didn’t stick to the original intentions of the author. But, this time, my changes were not the result of my relentless creativity, but rather improvisations out of necessity. If I haven’t mentioned it yet, Abby and I are training for another half-marathon. Despite the fact that we had guests coming in 4 hours, we set out to the gym for our 5 mile scheduled run. Well, time flies by when you’re having fun running your butt off. So, in light of our ever-shrinking timeline, and our impending “delightful aroma” of perspiration, we found ourselves rushing through the grocery, hurriedly forgetting half of the items I had intended to get in order to make dinner.

As it turns out, the lack of time wasn’t really that big of a problem. I had planned to make up a double batch of my Whole Wheat Pizza Dough, and we weren’t really hoping to eat for a few more hours. I divided the dough into four individual size pizzas, and let everyone design their own pie. By the way, that is a really fun way to cook for a party. Everybody gets to have their pizza just they way they want it. Just set out a little selection of different topping choices, and unleash the hungry hounds.

So anyway, back to the tart…

As you can see, I got to finally use my fancy, new mandolin. (Thanks again Stacey!) Look how the pears are rolling over in fear of their inevitable fate, as the mandolin towers over them. Mua ha ha ha… Or, maybe they just didn’t want to pose for the camera, you can decide that on your own.

This tart was surprisingly simple to make. I suppose the mandolin really took most of the work out of the process, but everything else took very little time, and was easily thrown together between taking my turns of a board game. The light, creamy filling was what really set this off for me. It was light enough that I wasn’t forced into sugar overload, but each bite was delectably savored.

Pear Tart

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INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 1/4 cup ground almonds (optional)

FILLING

• 1/3 cup fruit preserves (I used apple, but apricot or pear would also work)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 6 Tbsp. butter, softened
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2-3 pears, peeled and sliced (I used Bosc Pears)

METHOD

1. Cream together the butter and confectioner’s sugar. Then, beat in the vanilla, flour, and almond extract.

2. Press the mixture into a greased 11 inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Bake at 400° for 10 min. Remove from the oven, and reduce the heat to 350°.

3. Spread the preserves over the semi-cooked crust. Combine the sugar, flour, butter, and egg, and spoon over the preserves.

4. Arrange the pear slices over the filling, placing them in concentric circles and overlapping each slice to attempt to cover all of the exposed filling. (Optional: I also gave an extra light sprinkle of sugar over the pears before baking.) Bake at 350° for 40-45 min. or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and store in the refrigerator.

Adapted from a recipe found in the December / January 2008 edition of Taste of Home.