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1
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
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2
To make the pastry, combine the butter, flour, baking powder and salt in a food processor with a steel blade and pulse just until it resembles coarse crumbs.
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3
Slowly pour in the ice water and pulse just until combined and a dough ball forms.
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4
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
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5
When the dough is chilled, peel the pears and core them from the bottom so as to leave the stem intact.
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6
Fill each pear with 1 ounce of the crumbled cheese and sprinkle each pear with a light pinch of salt.
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7
Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll out each piece on a well floured surface.
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8
The dough should be fairly thin and rolled out to approximately an 8 round.
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9
There are two methods to wrap the pears.
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10
You can place the pear in the middle of the dough circle and simply bring the dough up to the neck of the pear and squeeze around the stem.
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11
A little bit of water on your fingertips will help the dough stick together.
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12
Alternatively, you can cut the dough circle into long, 1 wide strips and begin wrapping your pear like a mummy.
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13
Although this is a bit more work, I liked the effect better.
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14
If you like, you can roll out the dough scraps and use a small leaf-shaped cutter to make decorative leaves to attach to the stem.
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15
Place the pears on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the pastry is a light golden brown.
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16
If you want your pastry to be more brown, brush it with a beaten egg before placing in the oven.
