Gluten-Free Pear/Apple Tart

When I found Pillsbury’s Pie Crust on sale recently, I couldn’t resist getting a few to freeze for the holidays. But when I wanted a treat for company tonight, I decided to break one out early. This is so easy to make and will amaze your friends at how great it is. As soon as my husband tried it he said, “Did  you take a photo of this for your blog? This is amazing!”

 

Gluten-Free Pear/Apple Tart

1/2 carton Pillsbury’s Pie Crust

1 1/2 apples (I used Honeycrisp)

1 1/2 pears (I used Bartlet)

1/2 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 TBS butter

3 TBS apricot jam

2 TBS apple juice or Amaretto

 

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

2. Cut the pie crust dough in half and save one half back in the fridge.

3. Knead the dough for just about a minute to warm it up and soften it up, but not too long.

4. Roll out the dough to about the thickness of very thin pizza. Roll it between two pieces of parchment paper or else it sticks like crazy to the rolling pin.

5. Peel off the top layer of the dough when you are finished, then cut it to the shape you want. Go ahead and patch it in places to make a square or rectangle. If it helps, trace the shape of the plate on the back of one piece of parchment so you know how big to make it.

6. Keep the tart shell on the other piece of parchment and just put that on a baking sheet with low sides (It will drip so don’t use a flat cookie sheet)

7. Slice apples and/or pears thinly and layer them in any design you like. Just make them pretty even. I alternated pear/apple/pear etc. for fun. Go right up the edge of the dough.

8. Mix sugar and cinnamon, then sprinkle over the entire tart once you’ve lined up all your fruit. Sounds like a lot of sugar, but it’s a treat, right? You can use a little less if you want, but you want the carmelization on top. Top with your pinch of salt to bring out the sweetness of the fruit. Trust me.

9. Dot the top with little bits of cold butter.

10. Bake in the oven for 20-29 minutes, depending on how thin you made it and how hot your oven gets. Keep watch on it. It may begin to drip and if that’s the case, you may want to take out the pan and pour off the excess juice. I did this once and it helped. If it gets dark around the edges, don’t worry. That’s the sugar.

11. While the tart is baking, put the jam and liquid in a pan and heat. I used Amaretto the first time and it was marvelous, but used apple juice the second time and it was also great. Your choice. Once it’s heated, pour through a strainer to get the chunks out.

12. Let the tart cool for about 5 minutes, then brush the glaze all over the tart. Let it cool a bit more and slice. It’s crispy, crunchy, chewy and delish!

Enjoy!