These personal Pear Almond Mini Galettes are as elegant as they are delicious. These little pies are a perfect addition to your holiday table that will make your guests feel extra special.
Place pie crust mix into a food processor. Add butter and shortening. Pulse 10 times, 1 second per pulse.
Pour mixture into a bowl. Sprinkle with 6 tablespoons ice water and mix until dough just comes together. Add up to 2 tablespoons more water if needed to make dough come together.
Divide dough in half and flatten into two discs. Wrap each disc tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
For the Filling
In a large sauté pan, combine pears, 1/3 cup sugar and the scraped vanilla bean and pod. Cook over medium heat until the pears soften and their juices begin to run, about 10 minutes.
Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and the pectin. Add the pectin mixture to the pears and cook until thickened and bubbling, about 5 minutes. Remove the vanilla pod and set pears aside to cool.
In a food processor, combine almond flour and powdered sugar. Pulse several times to thoroughly combine. Add the almond extract and egg white and process until a thick paste forms. Scoop paste from the food processor into a small bowl and set aside.
Assemble the Gallettes
Remove dough from refrigerator. Roll each disc between two sheets of parchment or plastic wrap to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut eight 8 1/2-inch rounds, re-rolling dough as needed. Carefully transfer one round at a time to a parchment lined baking sheet.
Assemble the galettes one at a time. To assemble, press 1 tablespoon of almond paste into a 3-inch circle in the center of one dough round. Place about 1/4 cup pear slices in a decorative pattern on top of the almond paste, leaving a 1-inch border of dough.
Carefully fold the edges of the dough over the filling in small sections, overlapping the edges as you go. Leave about 2 inches of filling and pears exposed in the center of the galette.
When all galettes are assembled, transfer the baking sheet to the freezer for at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 400°F. To finish, thoroughly whisk together 1 egg and 1 tablespoon water. Brush each frozen galette with eggwash and sprinkle with sparkling sugar. Bake until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, 25–30 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes, then dust with powdered sugar to serve.