Almond Pear Bars

An elegant combination of flavors. Sweet pears baked over a slightly sweet and delicate almond paste layered over the most buttery shortbread. The shortbread crumbles slightly but the bars are held together by the almond paste. This is the true star here.

These bars are perfect to serve for any occasion but I particularly love serving them with an afternoon coffee or tea. These Almond Pear Bars are not overly sweet but they hit the spot beautifully.

This recipe is made in three different steps.

First comes the shortbread, it is made with butter, powder sugar and a bit of almond flour. By adding almond flour it helps carry the almond flavor all throughout the dessert.

The second layer is the almond paste. This is simply the most delicious spread. A combination of sugar, eggs, and a bit of almond extract for extra almond flavor, this is truly mouthwatering good!

The last layer is the pears. I love kicking them up a notch by adding vanilla paste and a bit of sugar. They top the bars along with a sprinkle of sliced almonds.

I hope you like these bars as much as I do, I feel like they transport me back to a fancy bakery in Paris!

How I made these Almond Pear Bars:

For the shortbread:

Place the cold cubed butter in a large bowl with the flour, almond flour, powdered sugar and a pinch of salt.

Using a pastry cutter or pastry blender, cut through the butter mixing it with the dry ingredients.

Once the butter is cut into pea size bits, start mixing with your hands. Press the dough with your hands and the dough will start sticking together, as you do this try to incorporate the dry bits in the bottom of the bowl.

Tip! The warmth from your hands will help bind the dough together but softening the butter so work quickly!

Once the dough starts softening and starts sticking to your fingers, transfer the entire mixture to the parchment lined baking pan.

Tip! The butter does not have to be perfectly incorporated into the dry ingredients, you can leave larger bits throughout the mixture.

Press the dough down to the mold spreading it evenly.

Once the dough has been pressed evenly throughout the baking pan, use the sides of the parchment paper and fold over the dough. Press your fingers through it to make the edges sleek and clean. Do this with all 4 edges.

Tip! This will help give the bars a clean look once its baked.

It’s time to work on the almond paste and pear topping, so leave the shortbread to the side.

For the almond paste:

In the bowl of an electric mixer, or a using a hand mixer, whip the soften butter.

Whip for about 2-3 minutes until the butter has lightened in color a bit and the mixture looks fluffy.

Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and add the eggs, vanilla paste and almond extract.

Tip! The mixture will “break” or separate for a bit. It will look like scrambled eggs but don’t worry, that is normal.

Mix for a few seconds and scrape the sides of the bowl and bottom once again.

Add the powdered sugar and almond flour and mix once more.

Tip! The mixture will now be homogeneous and will look like a paste.

Remove the bowl from the electric mixer and scrape the sides once more. Make sure everything is well incorporated and the mixture is creamy.

Spread the almond paste on to the shortbread. Make sure it is evenly spread and set aside.

For the pear topping:

In a large bowl, mix the diced pears, vanilla paste and sugar. combine well.

Pour the pears over the almond paste. Make sure to spread the pears evenly to cover most of the surface.

Tip! There will be spots uncovered by the pears and that is ok!

Top the pears with the sliced almonds.

Bake the entire pan in a preheated 350º oven for 40 minutes.

Let the bars cool until completely to room temperature.

Remove the bars from the pan by lifting the parchment paper out and transfer to a flat surface.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and slice them into bars.

Enjoy!