Oatmeal Cookie Pear Bars

For the crust/crumb mixture:
Cook the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until it foams, turns clear, and then turns a deep brown. This should take about 6 minutes. Pour browned butter into a glass measuring cup and chill it in the freezer until solid, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 F and line an 11 x 7-inch baking dish with parchment paper.

Whisk together sugar, flour, oats, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and cardamom in a medium bowl. Cut in the solidified brown butter and the egg with a pastry cutter until dough is crumbly. Reserve 1 cup of the mixture and set it aside. Press remaining dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven until crust edges are golden brown and center is set, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on a rack.

To prepare filling, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and add brown sugar. Add milk and bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Arrange pears in an even layer over the cooled crust. Then drizzle with the melted butter and brown sugar mixture. Scatter the reserved crumbs mixture over the pear layer. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until topping is golden.

Cool bars in pan on a wire rack until warm, about 1 hour. Then carefully lift bars out of pan and cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into squares with a sharp knife. Store bars in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days.