Pear Tart

I made this for new year's eve. It wasn't very good, but I'm putting it on here because I think with a few alterations it could be much better. The recipe is from Real Simple and the idea is wonderful, but it was pretty dry. Bake it for 5-8 minutes less than the recommended cook time, and make sure the pears you use are really tasty. Also, this would be best served with a vanilla custard or vanilla bean ice cream.

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup vanilla or regular sugar

1 egg

3 Bosc pears, peeled, halved and cored

2 tsp cinnamon + 2 tsp vanilla sugar (mixed together)

1/4 cup apricot jam + 1 Tbsp lemon juice

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Butter a round or rectangular tart pan and set to the side. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the egg and beat thoroughly. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients until just combined...you will have a very wet dough. Dip your fingers in flour and pull the dough from the sides of the bowl. Place it in the tart pan and using your fingers, push the dough on the bottom and sides of the pan to make an even crust. Place pears cut side down on crust and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake 35 minutes or until almost (but not quite!) golden. In a small sauce pan (or a bowl in the microwave) heat the jam and lemon juice until liquidy and gently brush over the entire tart. Let cool slightly and serve with ice cream.

Original recipe here