Perfect Pear Recipes

Just seven ingredients go into this upside-down French tart. And one of them is très-easy purchased puff pastry. (Choose an all-butter pastry, such as Dufour or the Trader Joe's house brand, for the best flavor.)

Oats, walnuts and nuggets of chopped pear give this loaf a toothsome heartiness, while buttermilk keeps it moist and tender.

Roast pears in the evening and chill overnight. All you'll have to do in the morning is top the tender fruit with a healthy Greek yogurt-based cream and granola.

Crispy bacon, extra-creamy cheese sauce, pears sauteed in brown sugar and butter. It took our Test Kitchen three tries to get all the pieces right for this fall comfort food. Oh man, was it worth it.

You can't mistake the fruit in this cardamom-spiced beauty. Pear nectar and dried pears complement thick slices of fresh, juicy Bosc pears.

Pie bars are a little like those frozen toaster strudels... if toaster strudels were made with fresh fruit and a surprising spice by a creative at-home pastry chef (that's you!).

You can almost remember a misty-morning trip to the orchards and bogs when you taste this riff on a Midwest favorite. A pumpkin-cornmeal biscuit crowns the sweet-tangy fruit duo.

Saffron is expensive, but just a pinch injects an earthy, honeyed quality to the pastry that brings out flavors in the pear.

A colorful mixture of sweet potatoes, red onion and pears blends with sage and sweet honey in this easy roasted side.

This picture-perfect pie takes more than a flaky crust. "The key to this pie is the apples you use," says Mary Schrier of Cumberland, Iowa, who got this recipe from an old, handwritten family recipe book. She suggests not using Red Delicious apples. Instead, make this with Granny Smith, Jonathan or any sweet-tart heirloom apples. "There are quite a few orchards that are starting to carry the heirloom apples, and this old recipe is just waiting for them," she says.

Cutting pears into a fan shape takes an autumn-spiced tart's look from homey to holy moly.

You can serve this hearty, fruit-studded dressing with roasted or grilled pork, poultry or ham. The recipe comes from the historical Story Inn in Nashville, Indiana.

This grand finale of a dessert features maple-burnished pears, drifts of lemony whipped cream and a sprinkling of candied pine nuts. It's all about contrasts-warm and cool, creamy and crunchy, sweet and tart. And best of all, all three components can be made ahead of time.

Juicy pears cook in a just-sweet-enough sauce of chocolate, coconut milk and coffee. 

This beauty of a salad blends tangy Gorgonzola and balsamic dressing with sweet roasted fruit.

Under those gorgeous slabs of buttery fruit, this chocolatey cardamom-laced afternoon tea cake holds a buried treasure of juicy pear bits. (Word to the wise: Our testers recommend keeping the photo of the cake handy when you're slicing the pears.)

You can't go wrong mixing tangy cheese with juicy, fresh pears. Add sprinkling of toasted pine nuts and a splash of olive oil with red wine vinegar, and it's divine. ToSa Euro Cafe in Indianapolis shared this recipe.

This rich, chocolate-y pie's flavor really depends on ripe, flavorful pears. (In other words, if they're still rock-hard, don't bother.) For a topping idea, try making homemade whipped cream with a dollop of sour cream whipped in; the slight acidity nicely cuts through the pie's chocolatey richness.