Author Notes
The flavors are distinctly cozy: scented with almonds, nutmeg, and winter pears...perfect with a steaming hot cup of coffee. My mother and her friends are excellent tart makers so I hope this lives up to the standard we were lucky enough to enjoy throughout our childhood to today. —kaykay
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Ingredients
- Pears and Filling
-
5
firm D'Anjou pears, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/8 inch thick
-
1/3 cup
sugar
-
1/2 cup
butter, divided
-
2 tablespoons
lemon juice
-
1 tablespoon
pear brandy
-
1/4 cup
flour
-
1/4 cup
amaretti crumbs
-
1/4 cup
brown sugar
-
1/4 teaspoon
cinnamon
-
1/4 cup
toasted slivered almonds
-
a sprinkling of freshly grated nutmeg to taste
-
1
cup heavy whipping cream
-
2 tablespoons
confectioners sugar
-
1 tablespoon
Amaretto liquer
- Crust
-
14 tablespoons
butter, cut into 1 inch pieces
-
1 1/2 cups
flour
-
1/2 cup
amaretti crumbs
-
2-3 tablespoons
ice water
Directions
-
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Put the pears, sugar, 1/4 cup butter, lemon juice and pear brandy in a large pan. Cook them gently over medium heat, stirring frequently, until they are soft-- about 7-10 minutes. Transfer pears to a 13 x 9 pan and let them cool until easy to touch.
-
Meanwhile, make the filling: In the bowl of a food processor, combine 1/4 cup butter, flour, amaretti crumbs, brown sugar, cinnamon and toasted almonds. Pulse several times. Set aside.
-
Make the crust: combine butter, flour, and amaretti crumbs in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until flour is the size of peas. Add 2 tablespoons ice water and pulse several more times until crumbs start to come together and are moistened. Add more water if necessary. Press into a 12-inch tart pan.
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To assemble the tart: spread reserved filling over the bottom of the tart. Arrange pears in overlapping circles on top of the filling until surface is covered. Sprinkle apples with freshly grated nutmeg. Bake for 35 minutes.
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Amaretto Cream: combine cream, confectioner's sugar, and amaretto in a bowl. Whip until soft peaks form.
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