Fall Fruits Festival ~ Pear Dessert

** Giveaway now closed. **

The Fall Fruits Festival has begun!! Welcome! We're going to have a fun week - I hope you'll stop by each day to enjoy a new fruit, recipes, links and giveaways! I'm starting with pears, then pumpkin tomorrow, apples on Wednesday, cranberries on Thursday, and chocolate on Friday. Oh - I'm sorry - maybe I should have mentioned that I have declared chocolate as a Fall fruit! Get your pear post ready to link up below! And yes, there's a pear-themed giveaway today, but you'll have to get through this post first. :)

Pears are a wonderful, juicy Fall fruit. The Pacific Northwest produces about 80% of the fresh pears in the USA. Harvest begins in August and continues with different varieties through September and October. Pears are actually harvested before they are fully ripe to avoid a gritty texture. You can find a lot of great info about pears, including recipes at USA Pears - they even have a blog!

I have a yummy pear recipe to share with you today! My brother-in-law got this recipe from a coworker a few years ago and knew that I would like it! It makes a nice big pan of dessert with plenty to share.

Pear Dessert

CRUST
1 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/3 cups almonds, chopped

Lightly spray pan with cooking spray.
Mix crust ingredients and press lightly to bottom of 11x13 pan. Bake 15-18 minutes at 350 degrees F.

While crust is baking, make FILLING:
2 packages (8 oz.) cream cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cool crust slightly. Beat filling until smooth and pour over crust.

Core and peel 5-6 fresh pears or drain 2 large cans of bartlett pear halves. Slice pears as thinly as desired. Cover cream cheese with pear slices. Sprinkle with mixture of 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes. Recipe can be halved and baked in 9x9 pan.

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You should try this recipe - very yummy! I have made it with canned pears and with fresh. Of course the flavor is better with the fresh pears!

How about a giveaway now? A pear-themed giveaway!

This giveaway is for a Harry & David pear mug, a Revolution white pear tea diffuser bag, and a little pear-scented candle. I wanted to give you a few moments to stop and smell the pears!

**Giveaway Closed**  Enter the giveaway by leaving a comment on this post! That's it! The giveaway will stay open through 10pm PST on Sunday 10/18 and the winner will be randomly chosen from the comments.

Now it's time for you to link up your pear posts and recipes so we can all have more pear fun! You can link up a new or old post about pears, but please do include a link back to this post so everybody can enjoy the Fall Fruits Festival! If you don't have a blog, feel free to share pear links and recipes in the comments.

Are you enjoying the Festival so far? Be sure to check back for pear posts. Tomorrow is all about Pumpkin, so get your pumpkin posts ready and come on back! I would really appreciate it if you help spread the word about the Fall Fruits Festival s**o we can get even more posts and recipes linked up!

Have a marvelous Monday friends!

I'm linking this up to DIY Day at A Soft Place To Land!

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