Skip the Pie—Make This Easy Holiday Dessert Instead

Prior to this fall, I have to admit that I hadn’t really given much thought to pears. Don’t get me wrong, I’m quite the seasonal fruit enthusiast—my mania for local strawberries knows no bounds in June. But when autumn rolls around, I’m usually chasing down heirloom apple varieties near me, with only a passing glance at the pears.

That changed this past September when I had the chance to visit pear orchards during harvest season in the gorgeous Hood River and Yakima River valleys in Oregon and Washington. This incredible corner of the country is home to thousands of acres of fruit trees and multigenerational family farms that grow apples, pears, cherries, and more. 

I fell for the pears on this trip, and I fell hard. The growers and chefs I talked to there shared the best uses for each variety (including a brand new one!) at their various stages of ripeness, and man, were they ever delicious.

Since coming back from my visit, I’ve been picking up pears on every trip to the grocery store and finding creative ways to use them. So far, my favorite is this easy-but-fancy pear-cranberry galette.

Easier Than Pie

Trust me, I love fruit pies—I helped make hundreds of them for years at a friend’s bakery every Thanksgiving—but when left to my own devices, I’ll choose to make a galette every time. A galette is a pie’s more rustic, forgiving cousin, fresh off the plane from the French countryside. Galettes are so easy to make and really show off a fruit filling.

To make a galette, all you have to do is roll out a round of pie dough, pile some lightly-sweetened fruit in the center, and fold up the edges to form an easy, pleated crust. No crimping or fussing with a lattice here!

The open-faced design of a galette means the moisture from the fruit can easily evaporate in the oven, leaving the filling tender and just slightly caramelized. A little bit of cornstarch mixed with the fruit catches any extra juices as the tart bakes to keep it sliceable and not soggy, and an egg wash and sprinkle of turbinado sugar on the crust makes it beautifully shiny with a crystalline crunch.

The Right Pears to Use

You can fill a galette with any seasonal fruit your heart desires (peaches! plums! apricots and cherries!), but for this fall-inspired dessert, I went with sweet, tender pears (of course) and tart, jewel-toned cranberries. It’s a delicious combination, and so pretty and festive to serve for holiday entertaining.

You can use any pear variety you like here (Bosc and Anjou are especially great choices), but the key is that they shouldn’t be overly ripe. If they’re really soft, the pears will flood the galette with lots of juice and the slices will collapse in the oven. Ripe-but-firm pears will hold their shape best and will be just juicy enough.

To assess when your pears are ready to use, “check the neck”: give the neck of the pear near the stem a gentle press; if it gently yields to some pressure, it should be good to go.

Tips for Making My Pear-Cranberry Galette

• If you’re feeling fancy and want some extra flakiness, feel free to make your favorite single-crust pie dough for this recipe. I love this sour cream pie crust in particular here, but you can also use a store-bought unroll-style crust to keep things easy.
• You can use either fresh or frozen cranberries in this recipe, and there’s no need to thaw the cranberries first if frozen.
• This simple dessert is lovely as-is, but you can serve it with a dollop of crème fraîche or whipped cream for a little extra decadence.

More Pear Desserts

• 4-Ingredient Sticky Pears
• Red Wine Poached Pears
• Pear Pudding Cake
• Pear Tarte Tatin