Active Time

　　10 minutes

　　Total Time

　　30 minutes

　　Editor's note: This recipe is from Erika Lenkert's book, The Last-Minute Party Girl: Fashionable, Fearless, and Foolishly Simple Entertaining For Lenkert's tips on throwing a last-minute New Year's Eve party, click here.

　　A dessert secret that you should always keep in your back pocket, this recipe can be your last-minute savior provided you've got pastry dough in the freezer and a piece of fruit or two on hand. It takes no time or talent and is glamorous enough for the most special occasions.

　　

Ingredients

Makes 6 servings

　　2/3 cup unsalted butter, plus 1 teaspoon for greasing the pan

　　1 10-x-14-inch sheet ready-made pastry dough, defrosted

　　3 cups blueberries or peeled and very thinly sliced pear or apple wedges

　　3/4 cup sugar

　　6 scoops vanilla ice cream (optional)

　　1 cup caramel sauce (optional)

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

　　

Step 2

Melt the 2/3 cup butter in a saucepan over low heat. Set it aside.

　　

Step 3

Grease a baking sheet with the remaining 1 teaspoon butter.

　　

Step 4

On a floured surface, unroll the dough, cut it into six equal squares, and transfer the squares to the baking sheet.

　　

Step 5

Cover each square with 1/2 cup of the berries or with enough pear or apple slices, attractively overlapping, to blanket all but the pastry edges.

　　

Step 6

Using a basting brush or a spoon, paint the fruit with melted butter, and then sprinkle each square with 2 tablespoons of the sugar.

　　

Step 7

Pop them into the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the fruit is tender.

　　

Step 8

Serve with ice cream and a decorative drizzle of caramel sauce, and your guests will think you graduated from the Culinary Academy.

　　Reprinted with permission from The Last-Minute Party Girl: Fashionable, Fearless, and Foolishly Simple Entertaining by Erika Lenkert. © May 2003 McGraw-Hill