Pear Puff Pastry (Printable)
Flaky puff pastry pockets with tender spiced pears and a crisp sugared top, best served warm.
# What You'll Need:
→ Fruit Filling
01 - 3 ripe pears, peeled, cored and diced
02 - 2 tablespoons brown sugar
03 - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
04 - 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
05 - 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
06 - 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
→ Pastry
07 - 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
08 - 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
09 - 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (for sprinkling)
# How-To Steps:
01 - Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
02 - Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add diced pears, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon juice. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pears are tender and the mixture has thickened. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
03 - On a lightly floured surface, roll out the puff pastry if needed. Cut into 6 equal rectangles or squares.
04 - Place a generous spoonful of pear filling onto one half of each pastry square. Fold the pastry over to enclose the filling, forming a triangle or rectangle. Press the edges firmly with a fork to seal.
05 - Transfer the filled pastries to the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops evenly with beaten egg and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
06 - Bake for 18 to 22 minutes until the pastries are puffed and golden brown.
07 - Allow pastries to cool slightly before serving. Serve warm on its own or paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- It looks like it came from a fancy bakery but takes almost no effort to pull together.
- The warm spiced pear filling makes your whole kitchen smell like autumn, no matter the season.
02 -
- Overfilling the pastry will cause it to burst open in the oven, so keep the filling to about one generous tablespoon per piece.
- Letting the pear mixture cool before filling is critical because hot filling will melt the butter in the pastry and ruin the flaky layers.
03 -
- Keep the puff pastry cold until the moment you are ready to work with it, because warm pastry will not puff properly and you will end up with flat, dense rectangles.
- A light hand with the egg wash gives a more even golden color than a thick coating, which can pool and create sticky patches.