Pear Crumble Bars

Pear.

That is going to be the word for the month (of October).

I have an ambiance of pears thanks to my mother's pear tree in her backyard.
I needed to do something with them.
I thought of making pear jam, but my kids said no.
I didn't want to can them.  I am not a 'preserve and can' person.

After searching I came across a few ideal recipes.
You will be finding a lot of  'Pear' recipes, just giving you a heads' up.

This recipe was a huge hit!
It never made it to the next morning.
I baked it in the evening after dinner and by my youngest child's bedtime (9pm) it was all gone.
Yikes.
They wanted more.
I wanted to bake more but not of the same thing.
I wanted to try the other recipes.

I didn't even make the glaze.
It was that good.

It looks plain, but don't let that fool you.
You can taste the pear; which is what I wanted.

I mixed the crust, in one bowl, by hand.
And the filling, used 2 bowls and used a rubber spatula.

The original recipe is from
 http://cravingchronicles.com/2012/11/05/spiced-pear-crumb-bars-with-dulce-de-leche/

Pear Crumble Bars

Bottom & Top:   3 cups all-purpose flour
                           1/2 cup granulated sugar
                           1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
                           1 tsp baking powder
                           1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
                           1 cup butter, cold, cut up in small-squares
                           1 large egg
                           1 tsp pure vanilla extract

*Preheat oven 350F.
*Line a 8 x 10 baking pan with aluminium foil, making sure you overhang the foil on two-sides (easier to remove once it has baked).
Lightly grease/butter the foil.
*In a medium bowl, stir flour, both sugars, baking powder and cinnamon together. (dry ingredients).
*Now grate the butter using the large-hole side of a grater into the medium bowl filled with the dry ingredients.
*With your hands, mix the butter with the flour until crumbly.
*In a small bowl, mix the egg and vanilla extract together.  I used a fork, to beat together.
*Then add to dry ingredients.
*Either using your hands (I did) or a spoon, mix together until crumbly dough forms.
*Press firmly 1/2 the dough mixture into the prepared pan, this will be the crust.
*Reserve the other 1/2 for the topping.

Filling:   6 medium pears (approx. 3 pounds), peeled and diced  
               2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon (juice)
              1/2 cup all-purpose flour
              1 tsp cornstarch
              1/2 cup granulated sugar
              1/2 cup firmly-packed brown sugar
              1 tsp ground cinnamon   

*In a large bowl, toss together pears with lemon juice.
*In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, sugars and cinnamon.
*Add the flour mixture to the pears,  making sure everything is evenly distributed.
*Spread the pear mixture evenly over the 'crust'.
*Using the other 1/2 of the crust mixture, place on top of the filling (pears).

*Bake uncovered for approx. 45-minutes or until edges are golden-brown.
*Cool completely on a wire-rack.
*Using the foil that is overhanging, to help remove from pan; and then cool completely.

**May serve either warm, or at room-temperature.
**Either dust with confectioners' sugar or use a carmel sauce to drizzle over-top.
(We had ours plain, and loved it!)


Enjoy!
:)