Pear Squares

🧂 Ingredients

• 2 cups UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour

  (Bleached flour toughens baked goods)
• 2 cups light brown sugar

  packed
• 1/2 cup salted butter

  cold (1 stick) (see note below)
• 1 cup walnuts

  or pecans, chopped (measure after chopping)
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 cup sour cream

  or plain Icelandic yogurt or Greek yogurt
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 2 cups pears

  peeled and diced (about 2 medium to large pears)
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

  for topping after squares have cooled

Instructions

• 1 Preheat oven to 350°.
• 2 In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar and butter.
• 3 Work a pastry blender into the mixture until it forms fine crumbs. (See my note
  below).
• 4 Stir in walnuts.
• 5 Place 2 ¾ cups of the crumb mixture into a greased 9×13” baking pan.
• 6 Press down firmly.
• 7 Add the remaining ingredients (except for the pears) to the remaining crumb
  mixture.
• 8 Blend well with an electric mixer.
• 9 Stir the pears into the batter.
• 10 Spoon the batter evenly over the crumb base in the pan.
• 11 Bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes
  out clean.
• 12 Cool before cutting.
• 13 Best if you let wait 24 hours before cutting.
• 14 Sprinkle with powdered sugar before cutting.
• 15 Store loosely covered.

Nutrition Info