Cheddar Pear Tart

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:

  1. 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.
  2. Make the filling by chopping and dicing the pears, then mix in the cornstarch and salt. Set aside.
  3. 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.
  4. Form dough into 1 inch balls (bigger or smaller, depends on the tin size)
  5. 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".
  6. Fill in the diced pears to the top, then add the topping, and sprinkle a little more cheddar cheese.
  7. Bake at 375°F for 15-17 minutes or until the top has turned brown.

Bon Appétit!