I love watching baking shows exceptionally during the holidays. One challenge was to pick a number that correlated with one verse from the song The Twelve Days of Christmas. A participant picked A Partridge in a Pear Tree and hummed the tune off and on during the whole challenge.
I could not get that song out of my head, so I finally gave up and thought about what kind of cookie can I make with pears.
There are challenges with making cookies with fresh pears. First, depending on the pear you choose, it will hold so much water that your cookies turn into a soggy mess within a day. So I started researching pears that were not fresh or canned.
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How to Infuse Dried Pears
To my surprise, they make and sell dried pears; who knew! So I found some locally here in Lancaster at a Wegmans store. Dried pears are more challenging around the rim but semi-soft in the flesh. So I decided to infuse the dried pears to soften them up.
A lovely 30-minute pear juice soak and they were just what I wanted. After taking the infused dried pears out of the juice, pat dry with a paper towel. Lay them out in a single layer on a dry paper towel and let them sit for 15 minutes.
I soaked 11 to 13 pears (about 4 to 5 oz), and when I cut them up into pieces, I got a packed oversized cup of diced pears. I love pears, so I used them all.
Ingredients You Will Need
- Butter unsalted
- Cream cheese
- Sugar white
- Light brown sugar
- Maple syrup
- Vanilla Extract
- Eggs
- All-purpose flour
- Baking Powder
- Kosher Salt
- Ground cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Chopped hazelnuts
- Diced dried pears
- Pear Juice for Infusing Dried Pears
How to Make Pear and Hazelnut Cookies
After infusing, patting dry, and leaving the dried pears to sit on the paper towel to drain, I cut them into bite-size pieces. Set them aside for now.
Weigh or measure the white and light brown sugars into a bowl and set the bowl aside.
Weigh or measure all the dry ingredients and run a whisk through to blend and set aside that bowl.
One of my favorite parts is putting this all together and finding out how it tastes. So let's begin... 🙂
Add the butter and cream cheese to your mixer and blend them. Next, add both sugars and mix on medium speed for a good 2 to 3 minutes until smooth looking. After that, add the vanilla extract and maple syrup.
Please take one of the eggs and crack it into a small bowl before adding it to the mixer. I try and do this every time because it never fails that I will get an eggshell in my cookie batter if I do not do this.
Next, scrape down the sides and across the bottom to ensure it is mixed before gradually adding the dry ingredients on a low mixer speed.
Finally, add the chopped pears and hazelnuts and mix just until incorporated. OK, this is where I taste the batter to make sure I like the taste, don't judge, lol. Cover and refrigerate for one hour,
Scoop and Bake
I almost always use a cookie scooper. It does help with making consistent-looking and tasting cookies. I got twelve mounds to a baking sheet using a medium-size cookie scooper.
Bake at 350°F (175°C or 180°C) for 12-14 minutes. I let them sit for about a minute before moving them to a cooling rack.
These cookies have pears and hazelnuts peaking out of the cookie; it is an invitation to eat one or two. Enjoy!
Storage
This recipe has cream cheese as an ingredient; this makes a creamy, moist cookie. I do not store these types of cookies in a sealed container. Instead, I put parchment paper or wax paper between the layers of a big oval plastic container and finish with one on top. They stay fresh for five to seven days.
Other Cookies with Hazelnuts
Recipe
Pear and Hazelnut Cookies
Barbara HallWould you like to save this recipe?
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Ingredients
- ½ cup Butter unsalted 1 stick room temperature
- 8 ounces Cream cheese softened
- 1 cup Sugar white 198 g
- ½ cup Light brown sugar 106 g
- 1 Tablespoon Maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 Eggs room temperature
- 2-½ cups All-purpose flour 300 g
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- ½ teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
- 1 cup Chopped hazelnuts
- 1 cup Diced dried pears infused
Instructions
- Infuse dried pears either with pear juice or water for half an hour. Take out of the liquid and pat them dry with a paper towel. Chop them into small pieces and set them aside.
- Weigh or measure the white and light brown sugars into a bowl and set it aside. Next, weigh or measure the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and run a whisk through to blend.
- Add the butter and cream cheese to your mixer bowl and cream them together. Next, add both sugars and blend on medium mixer speed for 2 to 3 minutes. Next, add the vanilla extract and the maple syrup. Then add one egg at a time. I crack the egg into a separate bowl before adding it to my cookie batter. It never fails that I will get an eggshell in my batter if I do not do this.
- Scrape down the sides, turn the mixer to a low speed and gradually add the dry flour mixture. Next, I scrape down the sides and across the bottom before adding the chopped pears and hazelnuts. It only takes a few seconds to mix the fruit and nuts into the batter.
- Cover the mixer bowl loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C) line 2 cookie sheet pans with parchment paper. I love using a cookie scoop since it makes each cookie the same size. I used a medium-size scooper to get 12 mounds on a cookie sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Leave them on the pan for a minute before moving them to a cooling rack.
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NUTRITION DISCLAIMER
I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist. The nutrition amounts given below are provided through a program and are only a guideline.
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