Pear Cheese Tarts with Honey and Hazelnuts

These elegant puff pastry tarts have a delicious cream cheese filling topped with thinly sliced pears and chopped hazelnuts with a light drizzle of sage honey.

Recipe Ingredients:

1 (17.3-ounce) package frozen puff pastry
1 pear, cored and quartered
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sage honey - divided use
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts
Cooking spray

Cooking Directions:

1. Remove puff pastry from freezer 30 minutes before using.
2. Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C).
3. Cut pear into thin slices.
4. In small bowl, combine pear, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 tablespoon honey.
5. Reserve another 1 tablespoon honey in a small heatproof bowl.
6. Use a mixer to beat the cream cheese until smooth. Scrape down the sides and add the honey, flour and lemon zest. Mix until smooth. Add the eggs, scrape down the sides again and mix until very smooth.
7. Spray a muffin tin with baking spray.
8. Cut half of the pastry sheets into 9 squares. Carefully fit 1 square into each muffin cup. Fill each cup with 2 tablespoons cheese mixture.
9. Fan 3 or 4 slices of pear (cutting to fit, if necessary) over each cup and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon hazelnuts. Freeze 10 to 15 minutes to firm pastry.
10. Bake cold tarts until pastry is lightly browned and cheese is puffed, about 20 minutes.
11. Cut 9 more pastry squares and repeat filling and baking.
12. Microwave reserved honey 5 seconds on High and drizzle tarts with warm honey.
13. Let tarts sit 10 to 15 minutes before serving or refrigerate and reheat in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 10 minutes.

Makes 18 tarts.

Recipe and photograph provided courtesy of National Honey Board.