These Insanely Good Pear Crumble Bars have a simple crumble base that doubles as the topping – with a layer of fresh pears and 30-second microwave caramel sauce nestled in the middle. Fall perfection!
Let’s give pears some love. Seriously – they’re the unsung hero of fall. Just as tasty and versatile as the apple or pumpkin, but much less celebrated.
I fell in love with pears after buying some from a local apple orchard one fall, a few years ago. OH. MY. WORD. If you can get your hands on local pears, do it do it do it. (It may be a bit late in the season though, depending where you live). To be fair, I bought these pairs from the grocery store and they worked just fine.
Now that I’m done rambling about my love of pears, let’s talk about these bars. It’s like a dessert bar and an apple crisp had a baby, and that baby was a pear instead of an apple.
And that pear was actually a few pears, sliced paper thin and nestled between a soft brown sugar crust and a homemade caramel sauce – with more crumbly crust sprinkled on top.
Oh, about that homemade caramel sauce. Are you thinking complicated, much lady? Don’t worry – it’s just a 30-second microwave-miracle caramel sauce. No big deal or anything.
Are you drooling yet? Are you ready to embrace pears? Get to it! ? ❤️ Happy fall + happy baking!
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Insanely Good Pear Crumble Bars
Ingredients
For the Crust + Crumble Topping
- 1 stick + 3 tbsp salted butter 11 tbsp total
- 2/3 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp salt
For the Filling
- 3 medium pears thinly sliced
- 4 tsp heavy cream
- 1/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp salted butter
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 pan or baking sheet with parchment paper or grease well with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- Make the crust + topping: Soften the butter in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Add brown sugar and mix until creamed. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Mix until a crumbly dough forms. Set aside a cup full of the mixture for the topping. Press the rest of the mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
- Make the filling: While the crust bakes, prep the filling. Thinly slice the pears.To make the caramel sauce, combine the heavy cream, sugars and butter in a small bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Remove from microwave and stir until smooth.When the crust is done baking, lay the the pear slices over the crust in an even layer (overlap is ok). Pour the caramel over the pears, and sprinkle the reserved crumble mixture over the top.
- Bake: Bake for 22-25 minutes, until lightly golden brown.
- Serve + Store: Let cool slightly before slicing and eating. Store leftovers (hah!) in an airtight container at room temp for up to 3 days. These bars are best the first day, though.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in October of 2017. I updated it this week and gave it new photos!
Love dessert bars as much as I do? Try these Strawberry Caramel Crumble Bars or these Peach Butter Crumble Bars!
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Mary Ann Letten says
Love these pear bars. I tripled the cinnamon. Also at a bit of cloves and ginger. Also 3 extra tablespoons of butter.
Best warm with ice cream.
5☆☆☆☆☆ recipe
Stephanie Simmons says
Thanks for taking the time to leave a review, Mary Ann! I’m so glad you enjoyed these bars. And I love that you amped up the spices! 🙂 I will have to write that into the recipe.
Potato Pumpkin says
It looks very delicious. I don’t know how it will taste like I made. I have to try it once if I have time. I can’t wait. . .
Stephanie Simmons says
Let me know how you like the recipe! 🙂
Patricia says
Can you put these in freezer?
Stephanie Simmons says
After baking? I haven’t tried it but I think you could store them in the freezer – wrap them tightly and keep in a freezer safe container for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge overnight before eating.
Luci says
Oh this looks so delicious. I’ll have to try this recipe out, I never have done a recipe with pears before.
Cynthia says
These pear bars look like an awesome snack! I feel sorry about pears now, I’ll give them a chance! It is just apples and pumpkins are so much visible now! Time to show some respect to this unsung hero!
Daniela says
Yum! Pears and caramel are two of my favorite things. I can’t wait to make these!
Azlin Bloor says
Oh my goodness, these look amazing! I don’t think I’ve ever had a pear crumble anything – time to correct that!
bluebowl says
The first time I ever tried a pear dessert I was HOOKED! 🙂
Tiffany Alexandria says
these really do look insanely good!!! I just swore that I’m not having sugar this week but this is really tempting….
Elena says
These bars look so tempting! I love anything with crumble and caramel.
Melissa says
Oh my goodness these look divine! I have to admit, we don’t use pears in as many dishes as we should (They really are a delicious fruit!!!). I love the caramel sauce too…I would be licking that bowl!
bluebowl says
Thanks so much! This is probably my favorite of all the desserts I’ve made so far 🙂
Catherine Brown says
Wow, those do look fabulous! I love pears, especially in the fall but I’ve never used them in a bar like these before. I definitely need to give these a try!
bluebowl says
Thank you! 🙂
Michelle Frank | Flipped-Out Food says
I am going to make these dessert bars very soon, primarily because I now know that they’re the love child of an apple crisp and a pear—LOVE IT! But also because OMG: a caramel sauce I can make in the MICROWAVE?! [Swoons]
bluebowl says
So glad to hear that!! These are one of my all-time favorite desserts 🙂
Amelie says
Oh yes! These look amazing. We’re huge fans of pears and I’m always looking for snacks or desserts with pears.
bluebowl says
Thank you! 🙂
April says
Those look so good! I am definitely going to try to make this but with apples. Would apples be okay? That’s if I can get my son from eating them all. I go through a bag of them every week.
bluebowl says
Thank you! Yes – I definitely think apples would work! You might need to up the baking time though since apples aren’t tender to begin with like pears are! Maybe add 5-10 minutes to the second round of baking! 🙂