Pear Pie

Why do people not use pears in dessert more often? I think they're one of the forgotten fall flavors. Apples and pumpkins get all the glory, but pears are right there waiting for their moment! I saw a magazine article about pear desserts and saw a pear and apple pie. But why let apples hog the spotlight? I re-tooled it to be a pear pie. 

Notes: I adapted this recipe from one I found in Southern Living magazine. 

You can probably use whatever pears you like in here. You want pears that are ripe, but not super mushy. I got some pretty ripe pears and was worried they'd be too soft, but they turned out fine. If you have tart pears, you might want to let them sit in the sugar for a little bit to let them macerate a little. 

Could you use a pre-made pie crust? Of course. But making your own pie crust is not as hard as it sounds. Lots of pie crust recipes call for a food processor, but you don't need one. People have been making pies before food processors were in existence. This recipe makes a top and a bottom crust.

When you're adding the water to the flour to make the pie crust, just add it slowly. You'll get impatient because it seems like the dough isn't coming together. Resist the temptation to dump more water into the bowl. It's hard to correct a wet dough, but it's easy to add water to a dry one. You just want the dough to be formed enough so that it holds together in a ball. That's all you need it to do, so don't knead it or anything once it gets to that stage. 

If you let your pie crust sit in the fridge for more than an hour, you'll want to take it out while you're preparing the pie filling so that it can take some of the chill off. It'll be easier to roll out. 

Ingredients:

1 prepared pie crust (recipe follows)

4-5 pears (I used Bartlett) 

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsps cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 egg beaten for egg wash (optional)

Directions: Heat the oven to 375. 

Peel and cut your pears into about 1-inch cubes. In a large bowl, mix them with the two sugars, flour, spices, and vanilla. Set aside while you roll out your pie crust.

Roll one disc into a 12-inch circle and line it in the bottom of the pie dish. If you want to make a lattice top, roll the other disc into a 12-inch circle and cut it into strips about an inch or inch and a half wide (I used a pizza cutter). If you just want a standard pie, leave the top as a circle. 

Pour your pie filling into the pie dish. You can either lay the dough strips across the pie and weave them into a lattice or you can just lay half the strips in one direction and the other half in the other direction (that's what I did) to create a lattice pattern. Cut off the excess dough and crimp the dough closed on the edge of the dish using a fork (you can also just pinch it closed if you like the fluted look). 

If you're not doing the lattice top, be sure to cut some slits into the top pie crust to let air escape. If you're using egg wash, brush it on the pie.

Bake for about 45 minutes. Once that time is up, loosely cover the pie with foil to prevent the edges from browning too much. Bake for another 10-15 minutes until the pie is bubbly and the crust is a light golden brown. Let the pie cool for a least an hour. Serve and enjoy!

Pie crust: 

2.5 cups all purpose flour

1 tbs sugar

2 tsps kosher salt

1 cup (2 standard sticks) cold unsalted butter (if you use salted butter, omit the salt above)

1/4-1/3 cold water 

Directions: In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt. Cut the butter into small cubes and use a pastry blender to cut it into the flour mixture until it's the texture of wet sand and the butter is the size of small peas. Add in the cold water a little at a time and mix with your hands until the dough comes together. Divide it in half and shape into discs. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.