Rustic Pear Galette with Walnut Crust – a cozy fall dessert that is easy to make- perfect for fall gatherings, holidays and parties. A delicious rustic tart can be made ahead!
Hello fall! I’m loving these brisk fall days with all the red and yellow leaves swirling in the breeze. The prettiest time of year in my opinion! I couldn’t let October get away without making one of my favorite fall desserts – a Rustic Pear Galette with Walnut Crust – a very autumnal dessert, perfect for fall gatherings and grown-up Halloween parties. This version is filled with cardamom and vanilla scented pears, enclosed in an earthy walnut crust. Not too sweet, the Pear Galette satisfies without being overly cloying. And of course it’s delicious with vanilla ice-cream.
This year I’ve partnered with California Walnuts and couldn’t be more delighted. The addition of walnuts to the crust really gives it another layer of flavor and complexity, along with an incredible crisp texture. Plus walnuts are nutritious, heart-healthy1 and offer good fats. They are also low in cholesterol and are the only nut with a significant amount of plant-based omega-3 ALA (2.5 grams/ounce). A delicious way to incorporate more walnuts into our diet!
Not coincidentally, pears and walnuts are in season at the same time, in early fall, which in my mind, means they absolutely belong together!
Such a happy marriage of flavors…
Make the simple walnut dough and refrigerate for 2 hours or up to a few days before, to let the flour fully hydrate.
Toss the fresh pears with sugar, cardamom, vanilla and lemon.
When the galette comes out of the oven, it will be beautifully golden and oh so fragrant. The walnut crust, crisps up beautifully.
Let it cool just a bit before cutting.
Then dig in and enjoy.
The leftovers make a luxurious breakfast, perfect with morning coffee.
I hope you give this Rustic Pear Galette with Walnut Crust, a try this fall season, I know you will love it!
Here are more Cozy Fall Recipes you may enjoy!
Happy week!
xo
Pear Galette with Walnut Crust
- Prep Time: 60 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: dessert, sweets, fall dessert
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: Northwest
Description
Rustic Pear Galette with Walnut Crust – a cozy fall dessert that is easy to make- perfect for fall gatherings, holidays and parties. A delicious rustic tart that can be made ahead.
Ingredients
Crust
- 3/4 cup walnuts
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 2/3 cups AP flour ( or sub pastry flour)
- 3 ounces cold butter (3/4 of a stick) or 6 tablespoons, cut into 8 pieces.
- 2–3 tablespoons ice water
Filling:
Instructions
- Place walnuts in a food processor and repeatedly pulse, until ground, like coarse sand. Add flour, sugar, salt and pulse. Cut butter into 8-10 pieces and repeatedly pulse, again to the consistency of very coarse sand.
- Add the cold water one tablespoon at a time, pulsing in between, adding just water until dough clumps together and forms a ball, or sticks together well when pinched. Place on a floured surface, gather into a ball, flatten with the palm of your hand, gather again into a ball, flatten again. Form into a ball, flatten to an inch-thick disk and refrigerate 1 hour or overnight. This will allow the flour to hydrate.
- After dough has chilled, preheat oven to 400F. Pull dough out of the fridge, and let sit for 20- 30 minutes.
- Cut the pears in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds with a melon baller. Slice into ⅓ inch slices. Toss with sugar, spices, vanilla and lemon, zest, salt and flour. Let stand until the pears release their liquid and the sugar dissolves, about 15 minutes.
- Place the dough in between two lightly floured pieces of parchment and gently roll into a disk about 14 inches wide ( ⅛ -¼ inch thick) rolling out from the middle and keeping the edges a little thicker. If the edges get too thin, you can fold them over towards the middle about ⅛ – ¼ inch to strengthen them so they don’t tear. Place this on a sheet pan ( over the parchment). At this point if dough feels too warm, put it back into the fridge or freezer for a few minutes so it firms up, so it’s easier to fold the edges up.
- Using a slotted spoon, arrange the pears in in the center of the dough leaving a 1 ½ inch border. (Do not “dump” the pears onto the tart shell, it may have too much liquid). Fold the edges up and around the pears, pleating and folding a bit. It doesn’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to use all the liquid from the pears, unless you think they seem dry. A little juice is good, but not too much. Dot the pears with butter if you like.
- Egg wash the crust if you like for a shine, sprinkle with course sugar and bake 30 – 40 minutes at 400F, or until golden and bubbling.
- Wait 10-15 minutes before cutting into it.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 469
- Sugar: 18.1 g
- Sodium: 223 mg
- Fat: 25.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 11.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 55.8 g
- Fiber: 5.3 g
- Protein: 6.3 g
- Cholesterol: 45.7 mg
1Supportive but not conclusive research shows that eating 1.5 ounces of walnuts per day, as part of a low saturated fat and low cholesterol diet, and not resulting in increased caloric intake may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. One ounce of walnuts provides 18g of total fat, 2.5g of monounsaturated fat, 13g of polyunsaturated fat, including 2.5g of alpha-linolenic acid, the plant-based omega-3
This is my FAVORITE thanksgiving dessert! After all that butter, I want something light and fresh like this!
Usually I bring this to my parents’s house, but I’m hosting the big feast for the first time this year– it says I can make it ahead, but how would I go about doing that? Just the dough? Assemble everything in advance and bake before serving? Or can I bake it ahead and just heat it up? Thanks!
Hi Ellery, I would just bake it ahead, and heat it up!
This crust is AMAZING!! It was my first time making this and I think it it turned out great. The crust has the crispiness I love. I was mindful of how much of the pear liquid I added and I was not too wet.
Awesome to hear!
FYI: Spelling error in #1 of the instructions. I believe you meant “coarse” not “course” (which is what horses race on). 😊
… Can’t wait to try this with some gift pears that we were sent for the holiday!
Fixed it- thanks Mary! Yes, let us know what you think- I really like this recipe!
My husband loved this. The crust flavor in this recipe is outstanding! It rolled beautifully on parchment directly out of my fridge, then chilled it before filling because folding it became unmanageable as it warmed. The chilled crust cracked as I folded it, but I went ahead with the folds and repaired them as the crust warmed and became softer. Then chilled for 15 minutes before baking to maintain shape. It came out beautifully.
Perfect Mary, appreciate you sharing!
One more “course” spelling error found in #7 of instructions! 😊
Haha- I’m obviously not going to win any spelling bees!
I think there is an error in the recipe … 11 oz of flour = 300g (which seems to be too much flour) while 1 2/3 cups of flour = 200g (which seems to be the perfect amount). Can you clarify which amount to use? (I just made my dough a 2nd time with the smaller amount since my 1st attempt would not come together. I made this previously and loved it so can’t wait for the finished product!!)
There may be. I would go with the 1 2/3 cups for now. I think I may have calculated this wrong.
I made this recipe for a dinner party and found that the dough was too sticky using the amounts called for in the recipe. I had to add another 2/3 cup of flour to the dough for it to form a ball that could be rolled out.
I have made at least 30 of your recipes and this is the first one that did not turn out amazing.
Shoot Anne, sorry about this- it sounds like maybe too much water. It is best to add pulse in little at a time. I will note the recipe. 🙂
We made this for Thanksgiving. Everyone loved it, from those who love the sweetest sweets to those who only want a little sweet. Trapped at home in the snow this week, I’ve been wishing I’d bought some pears! Thanks for this gorgeous and delicious recipe!
Glad everyone enjoyed it Suz!
Do you think the pastry would work if I subbed GF flour?
Hi Melissa- I think so? But haven’t tried. You may have to adjust the water bit so dough is not dry or crumbly.
So looking forward to the finished galette!! I just made the crust by weighing out 10.5 oz of AP flour on my scale. When I could not bring the dough together into a ball, I realized that 10.5 oz of flour weighed is nearly 300g but that 1 2/3 cups of flour in volume is just 200g so I increased all of the other ingredients in proportion and now have a nice disk chilling in my frig. Did I do the right thing?
I think so! That’s what I would have done. 😉 Let me know how it turns out.
It turned out great!! Everyone loved it 🙂
Thanks Leelee!
The best crust! I’ve been using it as a base for various fillings.
If there was ever a dessert recipe that is 100% autumn is this one! Not too sweet but very deep comforting flavors that made me feel all warm and cosy. Another plus for me is the fact that you just use a sheet pan and can make it however big or small you want according to how many people you’re having over.
The nuttiness of the crust was so delish I’ll be using this crust for my apple galette recipe as well! Thanks for your continuous foolproof delicious recipes!
Thanks so much!
Can you cook this in a cast iron skillet like your peach recipe?
Great question. I haven’t tried it Karen! I don’t see why not, but my only hesitation is I’m not sure how the nuts in the crust would fare in the skillet.
Absolutely delicious. The crust is amazing and the spices with the pears make it over the top. Served it for dessert after also making your minestrone soup on this cold snowy day in Montreal. Thanks for the great comfort meal!
Yay! Im so glad you liked it. I love the crust too!
If you were going to make gluten free, what would you sub flour for?
Sheryl, that is a great question. I’m not an expert at gluten-free baking, but I think a GF all-purpose flour blend could work.
There is a mistake in this recipe for the crust. Recipe states 6 oz of butter- which is 12 Tbl. It should say 3 oz or 6 Tbl. I didn’t catch this until it was too late. While it was delicious to eat in the end, it made a smoky, buttery mess in my oven! Would make again with the proper amount of butter. Walnuts are a lovely addition to the crust. Thanks for the recipe.
Tana…Im sorry about that, yes you are right! I fixed the recipe! 6 tablespoons is 3 ounces. Sorry again!
This was delightful. I think I botched the crust (not sure how), but I salvaged it. It was just a big dry and crumbly, hard to manage. I loved this delicious treat.
It sounds like too much flour? Sorry about that.