Pear Pie Recipe

This pear pie recipe is one I came up with recently! It is definitely one of my favorite new pies, right up there with pecan pie and chocolate cream pie. :D It's not the fanciest looking pie, but it more than makes up for it in flavor.

Pear pie is wonderful because of how creamy the pears get when they're cooked - they're amazing! This pie is rich thanks to the texture of the pears but also nice and light thanks to a good amount of fresh ginger and lemon. I think I could probably finish off half of it in one sitting!

This recipe makes one double crust pear pie.

Ingredients:

• store bought or homemade crust
• 8 pears (I used Bartlett because they were on sale)
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 whole lemon
• 1 egg + 1 tablespoon heavy cream for the egg wash
• sugar for sprinkling on top

You can use whatever pears you like, but make sure to grab extra pears if you choose a type that's smaller than the Bartlett ones. :)

Tools:

• 9 or 9.5 inch pie pan
• large rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips
• pastry brush
• an oven set to 375 F / 190 C with both racks in the bottom

I highly recommend making this pie in a glass pie dish if you have one - that way you can see if the bottom crust is cooked properly. :)

First, you'll want to peel the pears. (The skins get even more bitter and grainy when cooked in my opinion. :P) Since they're so slippery I suggest letting them rest on the cutting board while using their stems to hold them upright.

Once they're peeled, cut off the cheeks of the pears and cut them into 1/8 inch slices. Place these in a bowl. :)

P.S. Sometimes I'll put the pears right into the empty pie dish to see how many I need - that's how I decided to go with eight pears!

Once the pears are sliced and in the bowl, zest your lemon over the top. Once you're done zesting, squeeze in the lemon juice. If you have a super huge lemon you may want to only use half of it. We just need a couple tablespoons here. :)

I'm adding the lemon before everything else so it can soak into the pear - I love lemon and pear together!

Add everything else - sugars, vanilla, cornstarch, ginger and salt - into the bowl and mix it all together gently with your hands. Some of the pears will probably break but that's okay. When they cook you won't be able to tell as much. :)

Once it's all mixed and you can't see any dry spots, set the bowl to the side and get your crust ready!

You'll also want to preheat the oven around this time! Move your oven racks so they're in the bottom two positions and set the heat to 375 F / 190 C. We're going to put the pie pan on the top, and a sheet pan on the bottom to catch any drips.

If you're using store bought crust, follow the directions for a two crust pie in regards to thawing times and prep.

I'm using this pie crust recipe, so I'm going to roll out the crusts one at a time, but I'll be working quickly to keep the crusts from getting too warm. First I roll out the bottom crust!

How to roll out the pie crust:

• I like to use wax paper as my work surface - just sprinkle a little flour on it and lay the pie crust on top.
• Take the piece of plastic wrap it was wrapped up in in the fridge and lay that over the crust.
• Now you can use the rolling pin with no worries about it sticking to the crust!
• To check the size, place your pie pan on top of the plastic wrap.
• Once it's large enough, turn the crust over so the wax paper is on top. Peel the wax paper off carefully.
• Hold the crust by the plastic wrap and use that to transfer the crust easily to the pan!

Once the bottom crust is in, I press it into the pan with my fingers and then prick it with a fork all over. If I have any excess crust hanging over the edge I trim that off.

Then I spoon in the pear filling, roll out the top crust and lay that over.

I tuck the edges of the top crust under the edges of the bottom crust - I tend not to trim too much off the edges of the top crust because I love thick crust!

Once the top crust is tucked under, I press all around the edges of the crust with a fork to seal it. Then I cut a cross in the middle so steam can escape. :)

Before baking, I like to do an egg wash and sprinkle a little sugar on top.

Beat one egg and a tablespoon of heavy cream together and brush it over the top of the pie with a pastry brush. Take a couple pinches of sugar and sprinkle them over, too!

Now you'll want to bake it at 375 F / 190 C for 50-65 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and firm to the touch.

If you're worried about having pretty slices of pie, let it cool for at least an hour. If you don't care and just want pie, dig right in. :D