Pear And Almond Butter Recipes

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• 2.Pears: Cut pears in half and then into thin slices. Put them in a large bowl and toss with the brown sugar, lemon juice and zest to blend, set aside.
• 3. Topping: Combine flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Add the butter and almonds and break them up with your fingers integrating the dry ingredients with the butter and nuts.
• 4. Grease the bottom and sides of a shallow square baking dish (8 square inches) with the remaining tablespoon of butter. Layer the pears in the dish and top evenly with the nut topping. Place the dish in the center of the oven and bake until the pears are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife. The topping should be golden brown as well, about 40-45 minutes. Set aside to cool a few minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• In a mixing bowl cream butter with sugar until fluffy. With mixer on low, beat in egg. Scrape down sides of the bowl. Mix in brandy and vanilla. Add almond and all-purpose flours. Mix until creamy. Cover and refrigerate. Place almond filling into tart shell, spread level. Cut poached pear halves crosswise into 1/4-inch slices. Reshape pear halves and arrange 8 halves around the top of each tart, "spoke" fashion. Press pears lightly to fan out. Bake for 40 minutes or until top is well browned and filling is springy to the touch. Cool and serve at room temperature.
• Note: To poach pears, peel, core and halve pears, place in a pot with 1 3/4 cups white wine, 3/4 cup water, 4 ounces of sugar, 1 cinnamon stick, vanilla bean split, and 4 black pepper corns. Bring to a boil and lower heat to a simmer, cook for 30 minutes or until pears are tender when pricked. Cool in liquid.
• In a mixing bowl combine flour, sugar and salt, cut in butter until it resembles small pebbles. With a mixer running add vanilla and slowly drizzle in water until dough comes together in a sticky mass. Roll into a ball, wrap and chill at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours before rolling. Roll shell to fit into a 9-inch tart pan. Set aside.;

Steps:

• Spread 1 slice whole-grain bread with 4 teaspoons almond butter. Top with thinly sliced pear.

Steps:

• Peel, halve and core the pears. Mix the sugar and lemon juice with 200ml water in a small saucepan. Halve the vanilla pod and scrape the seeds into the pan, then add the pod (or add the vanilla bean paste). Heat until the sugar has dissolved.
• Add the pears and cover the surface with a circle of baking parchment (this will ensure the pears cook through evenly). Cook for 15-20 mins until the pears feel soft when poked with a knife, then leave to cool. Can be kept chilled in the liquid for up to one week.
• Meanwhile, make your porridge. Mix the almond butter with enough poached pear liquid to form a drizzling consistency, then spoon over the porridge and top the bowls with the pears. Scatter with the toasted flaked almonds.

Steps:

• To prepare the pear filling, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt and stir to combine. Add the pears and cook, gently stirring occasionally, until they are tender, about 4 minutes. Transfer the pears to a plate and let the mixture cool completely.
• Use a coffee grinder to blend the almonds to a fine meal. Transfer the almond meal to a medium bowl. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons butter, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, the confectioners' sugar, egg yolk and almond extract. Mash the mixture into a paste with a rubber spatula or the back of a spoon.
• On a lightly floured piece of parchment paper, roll the dough into an 11-by-14-inch rectangle. Arrange so a short side is facing you. With a bench scraper or the backside of a knife, very lightly mark off a 3-inch section lengthwise down the center of the dough. (Don't cut through the dough, you're just creating a guide for yourself.) Cut 1-inch strips perpendicular to the lengthwise guidelines, on either side of the 3-inch section. (These strips will be folded up to become the braided top.) Cut off the top and bottom corner strips, leaving the center flap.
• Spread the almond mixture down the 3-inch section of the pastry, leaving about an 1/8-inch border on all sides. Top evenly with the pear mixture, leaving any accumulated liquid on the plate.
• Beat the egg in a small bowl. Very lightly, brush a 1-inch border around the edges of the pastry with some of the beaten egg. (You'll be brushing the pastry that's been cut into strips, and the two end flaps.)
• Fold up the top and bottom ends of the center section to create a barrier for the filling. Starting at the top, fold each strip in at a slightly downward angle over the filling, alternating from left to right. Make sure the strips are overlapping by about 1/2 inch so they don't open up while baking. Using the parchment, move the filled pastry onto a rimmed baking sheet.
• Cover the pastry loosely with plastic wrap and let rest until slightly puffed, about 1 hour. Note the thickness of the strips when you first set it aside and use their growth as a guide. It's ready when the dough bounces back slowly when pressed lightly. (If it bounces back too fast, it hasn't risen enough; if it doesn't bounce back at all, it's gone too far.) While dough is rising, heat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Gently brush the top and sides of the pastry with some of the remaining beaten egg. Bake for 10 minutes then turn the pan and reduce the heat to 375 degrees. Bake until deep golden brown and puffed, 10 to 15 minutes more.
• Meanwhile, make the apricot glaze if desired. Heat the apricot jam in a small saucepan, stirring, until loose. Strain the jam through a mesh sieve into a small bowl; discard the solids. Brush a thin coat of apricot glaze over the warm pastry. Let cool slightly before serving.