Photo of Pear tart by WW

Pear tart

6
Points®
Total Time
1 hr 15 min
Prep
20 min
Cook
55 min
Serves
10
Difficulty
Moderate
This tart is both elegant and delicious—a fantastic choice to serve as dessert for special occasions or dinner parties. Your guests will be impressed but not only the creative presentation, but the depth of flavor. It features crushed gingersnaps, thinly sliced Anjou or Bartlett pears, fresh lemon juice and orange zest, and, the secret weapon, a pear-flavored liqueur. All you have to do is arrange the pear slices in tight concentric circles around the pan in order to create the prettiest dessert around. You can also easily change the filling for this versatile tart by using apples, plums, peaches, nectarines, or apricots and any flavor fruit or nut liqueur.

Ingredients

Unsalted butter

6 Tbsp, divided

Gingersnap cookie

18 cookie(s), crushed to crumbs (about 4 1/2 oz)

Pear

4 large, Anjou or Bartlett, peeled, cored, sliced 1/8-inch thick

Fresh lemon juice

2 tsp

Liqueur

½ fl oz, pear-flavored suggested (about 1 Tbsp)

Orange zest

1½ Tbsp, or to taste

Instructions

  1. Place oven rack in lowest possible position. Preheat oven to 350ºF and place a baking sheet on oven rack while oven is preheating.
  2. Meanwhile, melt 4 tablespoons butter in microwave or in a small saucepan on stovetop. Place cookie crumbs in a small bowl and incorporate melted butter into crumbs with fingertips until mealy. Spread crumb mixture onto bottom of a 10-inch tart or cake pan and pat down into an even layer; chill for 30 minutes before baking (or up to 2 days). Bake until crust starts to turn golden, about 8 to 10 minutes; remove from oven and cool. Increase oven temperature to 400ºF.
  3. In a medium bowl, gently combine sliced pears with lemon juice and pear liqueur. Arrange pear slices in tart pan starting with the outside edge — the long rounded part of the pear should rest against the side of the tart pan. Continue to overlap pear slices in tight concentric circles until all the slices are used up; work in any leftover slices.
  4. Cut remaining 2 tablespoons butter into small pieces; scatter over pears. Place tart in oven on baking sheet and bake until tart bubbles and fruit is tender but not mushy, about 40 to 45 minutes. Allow pie to cool and garnish with orange zest. Slice into 10 pieces and serve. Yields 1 slice per serving.