Pear Pecan Tart Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°. Beat butter, sugar and cinnamon until crumbly. Beat in flour and walnuts. Press onto bottom and up sides of a 9-in. fluted tart pan with a removable bottom coated with cooking spray., For filling, beat cream cheese and 1/4 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Spread into crust. Arrange pears over top. Mix cinnamon and remaining sugar; sprinkle over pears., Bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven setting to 350°; bake until filling is set, 15-20 minutes. Cool 1 hour on a wire rack. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F. Grease and flour 12-inch pizza pan. In medium bowl, mix flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter, using fork or pastry blender, until crumbly. Press firmly and evenly against bottom and side of pan. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until light brown; cool.
• In 1-quart saucepan, mix granulated sugar, cornstarch and salt. Gradually stir in orange juice and water. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute; cool.
• In medium bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth; spread on cooled crust. Arrange pears on cream cheese. Sprinkle with pecans. Spoon orange glaze over top. Refrigerate until set, about 2 hours. Store in refrigerator.

Steps:

• To make the ice cream, combine the milk, cream, maple syrup and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring just to a boil. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks in a mixing bowl. Whisking constantly and rapidly, add the milk mixture to the yolks. Pour the mixture back into the pan and place over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes; do not let it come to a simmer. Pour into a bowl, let cool and refrigerate until cold. Stir in the vanilla. Pour into an ice-cream maker and freeze according to the directions.
• Meanwhile, to make the tart, place 1/2 cup of pecans, the flour and the salt in a food processor and pulse until the pecans are ground. Add the butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the egg and pulse just until dough begins to come together. Gather dough into a ball, flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll the dough into a circle about 3/8-inch thick and fit it into a 10-inch tart pan. Line the pan with parchment paper, fill with pie weights or raw beans and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the paper and the weights and bake for 5 minutes more. Set aside.
• Peel, halve and core the pears. Arrange the pear halves in a circle over the crust, cut side down. Scatter the remaining pecans over and around the pears. Drizzle 1/4 cup of maple syrup over the top. Bake until the pears are soft but hold their shape, about 45 minutes, covering the top loosely with aluminum foil if the crust browns too much before the pears are done. Let cool.
• Stir together 1/4 cup of maple syrup and the Cognac. Brush the mixture over the pears. Cut into wedges and serve with a scoop of maple ice cream.