Ok, I have not been too faithful in this blog. But then, I have not really experimented with any new recipes over the summer. The weather has been too hot to turn on the oven when the house felt like an oven -- sometimes.
Now, that we have changed seasons...fall is upon us and of course, harvesting of fruits and vegetables call for warm and comforting dishes too. Forget salads!!
This year, mom's pear tree was very fruitful, no pun intended. Lots of the little green lightbulbs on the tree and plenty to share. So, far, Karen and Joyce have attacked their pears by making pies and strudel. I decided to make squares. I originally found this recipe in my big baking book and it was an apple bar. I changed the apple to pear and added my own twisted to it and came up with this one very sticky and sweet square. I say square because the portion would be smaller -- as it is quite sweet for a big piece to devour. However, if you love sweets -- have a bar. There is no rule on the size.
Dickens has brought it to share with his colleagues and I have shared it with my mom friends. The reviews were good. So, here is the recipe to share with you...
Pear Squares (makes 32 squares)
Preheat oven to 350 F
3 cups of peeled and sliced pears
2 tbsp of orange juice
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1/4 tsp of nutmeg
2 cups of quick cooking oats
1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup of melted unsalted butter
2 tbsp of sugar
1 1/2 cups of sliced almonds
1 cup of sweeten flaked coconut
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1. In a bowl, combine pears, orange juice, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix well and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, stir graham cracker crumbs, oats, sugar and melted butter until well blended. Then press firmly in a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper.
3. Drain the pear mixture and pour on top of crumbs. Then sprinkle almonds, then coconut on top of the pears. Pour condensed milk evenly over top.
4. Bake in preheated over for 30-35 minutes or until light brown. Let it cool completely before cutting into squares.
