Saturday Cooking Extravaganza Part 4: Pear Galette

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, I made a dessert!  That's highly unusual for me because my only defense against not over indulging in sweets is simply not making them.  This Pear Galette from Family Circle magazine was fun to make and we are still enjoying it today warmed in the microwave and with some honey flavored Greek yogurt and fresh blueberries on the side.

Pear Galette
Serves 8

Dough:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 12 tsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 7 to 9 tbsp. ice water
• Flour, for dusting

Pear Filling:

• 4 medium-size ripe Bartlett pears (about 2 lbs.)  (I substituted D'anjou.)
• 1 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 3 tbsp. sugar
• 2 tbsp. apricot preserves

Saturday Cooking Extravaganza Part 1: Rocky Road Shortbread Cookies

I wanted to do something special to celebrate Valentine’s Day.  Who knew I could cook for an entire day?  It was so much fun and the best part may have been that I didn’t even mind doing so many dishes. 

Here’s a list of what I made today:  Vegetable Beef Soup, Roasted Vegetable Lasagna, Pear Galette, Walnut-Romaine Salad, Swiss and Gouda Fondue and Chicken Roll-Ups.  And let’s not forget the Rocky Road Shortbread cookies I made yesterday.  (I had a half day off of work!)

Let’s get right to the recipes:

These were a hit!  I think I’ll make just the cookies next time and skip the toppings.  I’m a fool for shortbread.




Rocky Road Shortbread Cookies (Courtesy of Family Circle Magazine)
Makes 16 cookies

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup walnuts, finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup mini marshmallows
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips