This cheddar pear tart recipe is now one of my fall favorites. It's an apple pie alternative and a great party finger food. I originally saw a recipe for cheddar pear pie but remembering that my sister gave me some tartlet tins a while go, my light bulb then went on and decided to make tarts instead of a pie.
This baking session ended up taking me WAY longer than it needed to only because there were only five tartlet tins to use (kicking myself for not being prepared!). I didn't want to bake 5 tarts at a time but it was already too late to change my idea. And plan b, of going out to get more tins, was out of the question that day. I committed so I went for it.
After a few hours, there they were! :)
Cheddar Pear Tart
Servings: 50 tarts
You'll need:
Shells:
- 4 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 sticks unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 3 eggs
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
Filling:
- 6 bartlett pears
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp salt
Topping:
- 1 1/2 cup fine shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup unsalted butted, melted at room temp
Approach:
- Make the tart shells by combining flour, powdered sugar, and salt. Then add vanilla extract and butter and slowly whisk in the eggs. Form dough into a ball.
- Make the filling by chopping and dicing the pears, then mix in the cornstarch and salt. Set aside.
- For the topping, combine cheddar cheese, flour, sugar, and salt. Then mix in the melted butter. Stir to combine but don't over mix. It'll appear crumbly.
- Form dough into 1 inch balls (bigger or smaller, depends on the tin size)
- Cover each tin with dough by working from the middle then outwards. When you get to the top, slightly pitch the edge so it looks like an "A".
- Fill in the diced pears to the top, then add the topping, and sprinkle a little more cheddar cheese.
- Bake at 375°F for 15-17 minutes or until the top has turned brown.
Bon Appétit!