Pear Crumble Bars

Pear crumble bars come together easily and are the perfect tasty fall treat.

Looking for a fall treat that tastes delicious but doesn’t take many ingredients or time to put together? Look no further than these homemade pear crumble bars! They taste like a pie, but they are more portable and easier to slice with less fuss. Fresh pears mixed with cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla is a divine combination. Now sandwich those pears in between a crumbly oat brown sugar crumble and it’s a match made in heaven!

As many of you know, we grow pears commercially so I’m always looking for ways to use up this tasty fruit. I don’t think pears get enough attention as their shiny red and green apple counterpart. I think baking with pears takes things to the next level, especially desserts. If you love baking with pears as much as I do, be sure to try my Salted Caramel Pear Pie, Mini Chai Spiced Pear Pies and Bourbon Pear Pie with Oat Pecan Crumble.

Now back to the Pear Crumble Bars...this recipe has all that you crave in a fall dessert. It’s sweet with fall flavors and has a little crunch and gooeyness – best of both worlds! You don’t have to be an expert baker to master this recipe. It’s simple and easy and is something you can make for your family or a large gathering.

Best Pear Varieties for Baking

Baking throughout fall gives us plenty of chances to use seasonal ingredients. See my tips below for the best type of pear to use for baking.

• Best pear varieties for baking: Bosc, Anjou and Bartlett
• For baking, look for pears that are firm but ripe.
  • Check the neck. Apply gentle pressure to the neck of the pear with your thumb. If it yields to pressure, it’s ripe.
• If the pears are rock hard when you buy them, you will have to wait a few days for them to ripen on the counter.
• Mushy pears aren’t good for baking, so don’t use them for this recipe.

How to Make Pear Crumble Bars

I said this recipe was easy, right? It’s so easy that you don’t have to bake the pear filling beforehand. In fact, if you do, it’ll be too mushy. So, save yourself some time and dishes and make sure you don’t prebake the pear filling! Easy peasy. Now onto the instructions...

After preheating the oven to 350ºF, line a 13x9 inch baking dish with parchment paper and set aside. Next, toss pears with cornstarch, brown sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg in a medium bowl. This will allow a few minutes for the pears to soak up the glorious fall spices, sugar and vanilla.

Mix the oats, all-purpose flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl. Next, pour the melted butter into the oat mixture. Stir to combine until you form a fine crumb. Press two-thirds of the prepared crumb mixture into the prepared pan. Make sure the crust is tightly packed. This tightly packed crust will ensure that the bottom stays together and not fall apart once cooled and sliced.

Now, spread the pear mixture over the packed crumb mixture. Then sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture on top of the pear mixture. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Allow to cool completely before cutting into pieces. Drizzle with homemade Salted Caramel Sauce.

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