It’s about time for holiday pie…this Cranberry Pear Pie would be a bright, new addition to this year’s dessert table.
I love cookbooks, in fact, I often read them like novels. Last fall I bought Pie by Ken Haedrich, with over 300 different pie recipes, this book is a thorough education in all things pie. It’s a pie bible, if you will, and that is my husband’s absolute favorite dessert…ever. So last spring for Valentine’s Day, we had planned on staying home and cooking dinner together. I handed him the Pie cookbook and told him to pick out anything he liked for me to make. His choice…this Cranberry Pear Pie. At the time, it was a complete revelation of how lovely this book really was. Every.single.recipe we’ve tried has been a winner. I’m still working on my love of making my own pie crust, sometimes I take the easy store bought route, which works too.
This pie…words fail me. Tart cranberries, ripe juicy pears, citrus juice and zest with hints of cinnamon and cardamom…all sandwiched between flaky pie crust and crumbly nut topping. This is serious pie, people. And it’s amazing down to the last crumb!
This recipe for Cranberry Pear Pie yields an incredible sweet tart combination with a crumbly nut topping.
Ingredients
- SINGLE PASTRY for a 9.5 inch deep dish pie
- 3 cups FRESH CRANBERRIES
- 1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoon SUGAR
- 2 large ripe PEARS, unpeeled, cored and chopped
- 1 Tablespoon FRESH LEMON JUICE
- Zest of 1 ORANGE
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons CORNSTARCH
- 1/4 teaspoon GROUND CINNAMON
- 1/4 teaspoon GROUND CARDAMOM
- Nut Crumb Topping:
- 1 cup PECAN HALVES (you could also use walnuts)
- 1/3 cup GRANULATED SUGAR
- 1/3 cup LIGHT BROWN SUGAR, packed
- 3/4 cup FLOUR
- 1/4 teaspoon SALT
- 1/2 cup COLD UNSALTED BUTTER, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
Instructions
- Prep crust and place in pie pan. Place in freezer for 15 minutes.
- In the food processor, pulse cranberries and 1/2 cup sugar about 6 times until chopped. Place in a large bowl and add pears, lemon juice and orange zest. Stir to combine well. Set aside for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Mix 1 Tablespoon of sugar with cornstarch, cinnamon and cardamom together in a small bowl. Add to fruit mixture and stir to combine. Pour into chilled pie shell and even out with a spatula. Place in the center of the oven and bake for 35 minutes.
- Make the crumb topping by placing nuts, both sugars, flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine and add butter chunks. Pulse again to form medium-fine crumbs. Pour into a bowl and rub the mixture between your fingers to form large, buttery crumbs. Chill until ready to use.
- After the 35 minutes of baking time, remove the pie from the oven and reduce the temp to 375 degrees. Pour the crumb topping into the middle of the pie and gently spread it to the edges of the pie using your hands. Press the topping down slightly.
- Turn the pie around (so the other side now faces the back of the oven) and return to the oven for 30-35 minutes, until you see juices bubbling around the edge. I suggest putting a baking sheet underneath to catch any drips or overflow.
Recipe Source: Pie by Ken Haedrich
WAIT PIE LOVERS, there’s more…
Pretend Chef says
Yummy!
Pretend Chef recently posted..Homemade Tomato Juice
Terry says
Yummm!
Terry recently posted..Menu Plan 110413
Maria says
Your pie sounds delicious! I have a big bag of fresh cranberries waiting to be used in the fridge, I’ve been loving using them this fall! The taste of the fresh cranberries just cannot be substituted with dried ones! This looks like a great way to use them!
Maria recently posted..Snowy Tree Sugar Cookies
Mary OBrien says
Cranberry AND Pears…….LOVE IT. Thanks Becca…..cya soon
Mary OBrien recently posted..For Tommy, on Veteran’s Day
Heather @ Sugar Dish Me says
300 pie recipes?! Count me in!!! That book sounds awesome. Like this pie! It’s beautiful!
Thanks so much for sharing with us at Saturday Night Fever!!
Heather @ Sugar Dish Me recently posted..Spiced Rum Cupcakes with Boozy Buttercream