Maple Bourbon Pear Galette

I looked at the calendar this week and realized that Thanksgiving is about a week sooner than I thought, which got me plotting potential holiday fall treats!

I’ve discussed my love for pears in fall desserts multiple times, but I need to reiterate that when combined with bourbon and maple, pears may beat out your favourite apple dessert.

Galettes are also great for last minute gatherings when you need a delicious dessert, but you don’t want to deal with the hassle of a lattice or prebaking crust. Perfectly simple and rustic yet completely delicious!

I’ll be on The Morning Show on Global News this Tuesday at 7:50am making this galette, tune in to see how you can make it too!

Crust Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 tsp sea salt

• 1 1/2 tsp sugar

• 1/2 cup butter (straight from the fridge, cut into 1 inch pieces)

• 1/2 cup cold water

• 2 tbsp vinegar (I use cider vinegar, mix it in the water)

Filling Ingredients

• 3-4 pears – peeled and thinly sliced

• Juice of 1/2 lemon

• 1 tbsp granulated sugar, plus 1 tsp for bottom of pie crust

• 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp packed brown sugar

• 1 tbsp flour, plus 1 tsp for bottom of pie crust

• 1/4 tsp ground ginger

• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

• Pinch of allspice

• A few grinds of pepper

• 1/4 tsp sea salt

• 1 1/2 tbsp bourbon

• 1/2 tbsp maple syrup

• 1/2 tsp vanilla

• Egg wash to coat (1 egg and 1 tsp water mixed) and raw sugar for sprinkling

Steps

To make the crust, mix together flour, sugar and salt.  Using a pastry blender, “cut” in the butter. This means you’re almost mashing the butter into the flour with the blender, ensuring all butter is covered in flour until the butter pieces are about the size of peas or a bit bigger.

Then, splash in a bit of your water mixture (2-3 tablespoons) and mix it around with your hand.  Continue to add a little at a time and mix and squish with your hand until a large dough ball forms.  If you need to get a bit more binding, add a bit of water to your fingers to help it along.  Don’t feel compelled to use all the water, mix it in until just combined and the dough is holding together. Flatten dough into a disk and wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Roll out pie dough to about 13 inches in diameter and carefully transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. Refrigerate while making filling.

In a large bowl, toss together pear slices, lemon juice and granulated sugar with your hands and let the mixture sit for 20 minutes.  In another bowl, mix together brown sugar, flour, spices and salt.  Drain excess moisture from pear mixture and sprinkle sugar mixture on top.  Toss with your hands until pears are evenly coated.

Sprinkle bourbon, maple syrup and vanilla on top of pears and stir gently with a wooden spoon until incorporated.

Arrange pears as desired onto rolled out pie dough, ensuring there are 1-2 inches between the pear slices and the edge of the dough.  Fold crust edge over the pears, pinching the bottom edge of the galette to make sure it all stays together.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Brush with egg wash and sprinkle pastry with raw sugar for garnish.

Bake at 400F for 20-25 minutes, until pastry is set and beginning to brown.  Reduce heat to 375F and bake for 30-35 minutes until pastry is brown and juices are bubbling.  Allow to cool for 1-2 hours.