Brie and Roasted Pear Tartlet Appetizer

Puff pastry filled with brie and roasted pear creates a delicious tartlet and the perfect holiday appetizer. 

The season of entertaining is upon us again and that has us thinking about new appetizers to serve up to our friends and family when we are hosting over the holidays. These brie and roasted pear tartlet appetizers are just one of a few that we’ve come up with to tantalize their taste buds.

Add it to a charcuterie board, or pair it with several other appetizers, like our tomato and bruschetta flatbread (which is always a hit!).

I’ve been on a pear kick this past fall. For a while there I was eating at least two or three a day. Unlike apples, I find pears need to reach the exact perfect ripeness. I spend a lot of time in the fruit aisles at the grocery store testing to see which pears, mangos, kiwi, and peaches are at their peak. I’m sure that I get a lot of looks from fellow shoppers because I do spend a little too much time squeezing various fruit. But who wants to buy unripe fruit?

Now if you’re feeling adventurous you can always try making your puff pastry, but I find that the frozen stuff from the grocery store works just as well, with a lot less work! It’s not that it’s that hard to make (it only has three ingredients), it’s just that it is very time-consuming and labour intensive.

Briefly roasting the sliced pear brings out the sweetness, while relaxing them just enough to stack onto the cooked puff pastry and brie bases.

I could have stopped right here and topped vanilla ice cream with these roasted pears (feel free to do so if that sounds good to you!). The aroma that filled our kitchen when I took them out of the oven was incredible.

So how did they taste?

When layered together, the buttery taste and light and airy texture of the puff pastry, coupled with the mild and creamy taste of the brie, topped with the sweet and spiciness of the pears, and slight zest of the fig cabernet jelly becomes a perfect combination.