4 ripe pears
sugar for sprinkling
3 to 4 tablespoons apricot jelly
2 tablespoons water

French Sweet Pie Pastry:
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons sugar
4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter

Almond Cream:
7 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg and 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
3/4 cup ground almonds
pinch of salt
eight 4 inch tartlet molds
6 inch round cookie cutter (optional)

Directions:
Make the French sweet pie pastry dough: Sift the flour onto a work surface and make a well in the center. Combine the salt, sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla in the well, and mix the ingredients with your fingers. Pound the butter with a rolling pin to soften it slightly, add it to well, and quickly work it into the other ingredients. Using a pastry scraper, gradually draw in flour from the sides and continue working with the fingers of both hands until coarse crumbs are formed. Press the dough into a ball.

Knead the dough with the heel of your hand, pushing it away and gathering it up until it is smooth and pliable and pulls away from the work surface in one piece, 1 to 2 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap it, and chill until firm, at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the almond cream: beat the butter with an electric mixer or wooden spoon until creamy. Gradually beat in the sugar and continue beating vigorously until the mixture is light and soft. Gradually add the eggs, beating well after each addition. Fold in the ground almonds and salt.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Put a baking sheet in the lower third of the oven to heat. Brush the tartlet molds with butter. Roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut 8 rounds of dough with the cookie cutter or using a 6 inch pan lid as a guide, rerolling the dough if necessary. Line the tartlet molds with the rounds, pressing them well into the bottoms and evenly up the sides to form neat shells. Chill until firm, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel the pears, halve them lengthwise, and scoop out the cores. Cut the pear halves across in 1/4 inch slices and flatten the slices slightly. Spoon the almond cream into the tartlet shells, spreading it evenly. Using a metal spatula, lay a pear half on top of the cream in each shell. Sprinkle with a little sugar.

Bake the tartlets on the hot baking sheet until the pastry and almond cream are a rich golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool slightly before unmolding. Shortly before serving, make the apricot glaze: heat the apricot jelly and water in a small saucepan, stirring until melted. Brush the tartlets with the glaze and serve at room temperature.

Makes 8.

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