Homemade Spiced Pear Breakfast Pastries
With all the flavors of Fall packed into a toaster style breakfast treat with juicy Bartlett pears, you’re going to want to create these Homemade Spiced Pear Breakfast Pastries immediately.
I love breakfast foods. It’s likely my favorite meal of the day and during the holidays, when I know guests will be spending time overnight, I love creating something a bit unexpected. These Spiced Pear Breakfast Pastries have the convenience of a “pop tart” style breakfast option, but are filled with all the favorites of Fall; juicy pears and filled with spice!
Your kitchen will be filled with autumn spice and will thank you. Your guests will thank you. And, your own belly will thank you.
And if you’re thinking they’re way too complicated, you couldn’t be further from the truth. These delicious beauties can be whipped together in 30 minutes flat.
WHAT KIND OF PEARS?
Just like finding the right apple, choosing which pears to use can be confusing and overwhelming. Some pears hold their shape extremely well when baked, and are best suited for pies or galettes while others will disintegrate into a jammy like texture. The Bartlett pear, the one I used in this recipe, has a sweet pear flavor and is juicy like an apple. It will cook down nicely, but also retain a bit of its shape.
WHERE SHOULD I BUY AND WHY?
I picked up my pears from my local Sprouts and while the apples were on sale, I spotted the pears and knew that I wanted to change things up a bit. With their reasonable pricing, Sprouts makes it easy to enjoy seasonal fruit. And, did you know December is National Pear Month? File away this recipe to enjoy sometime during the month of December!
Homemade Spiced Pear Breakfast Pastries
Delicious spiced pears make these breakfast pastries an easy to bake weekend treat.
Ingredients
- For the Pastries:
- 1 package pie crusts (2 per package)
- 3 large ripe pears, peeled, cored and diced into 1/2" cubes
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds removed
- 3 tablespoons light agave nectar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- For the Icing:
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons butter, softened and slightly melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1-2 tablespoons whipping cream
- slivered almonds, optional and for topping
- turbinado sugar, optional and for toppping
Instructions
For the Pastries:
In a medium saute pan, heat the butter until melted. Add the diced pears to the butter and cook for about 5 minutes, until the pears begin to release some liquid. Add the vanilla bean, agave nectar and spices. Bring to a simmer then reduce heat to low and cook until mixture begins to thicken and the pears become tender; about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, remove the vanilla bean, and allow to cool.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
On a floured surface, roll out the pie crusts. Cut out rectangles about 4 1/2 inches by 3 inches. You need 2 rectangles per pastry. Add 2 heaping spoonfuls of pear mixture to the base of the rectangles, in the center only, making sure to leave the edges clean. Top with additional pie crust and use a fork to crimp the edges to seal. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat until desired number of pastries is reached.
*Each pie crust will yield about 4 rectangles. You can use the scraps to reroll the crust to get additional pastries if desired.
Before baking, use a fork to prick a couple of times to vent each pastry.
Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before icing.
For the Icing:
With a whisk attachment on a stand mixer, blend together the powdered sugar and butter until well combined. Add the vanilla extract and cinnamon. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and slowly add the whipping cream until smooth and spreadable and desired consistency is reached.
Use an offset spatula and frost each pastry with icing. Top with slivered almonds and a sprinkle of turbinado sugar if desired.
I’ve used store-bought pie crusts, but you could certainly whip together your favorite from-scratch crust if you desired. For this recipe, I wanted the convenience of a ready made pie crust to keep the prep time minimal.
I’ve iced my breakfast pastries, but you could totally omit the icing if you’re watching your sugar intake and instead use a simple egg wash prior to baking and just call it a day.
You’ll remember from my Bananas Foster Pop Tarts post or these Pecan Praline Mardi Gras Pop Tarts , that I love to use my mini pie press to make what I call “gourmet pop tarts”.
The Spiced Pear Breakfast Pastries could also be used with apples if pears are not your thing.
Today’s post was sponsored by Sprouts Farmers Market but I’d still be excited to feature their products even if it wasn’t! You can visit their website here.
