My Spicy Autumn Pear Pie Food

SPICED PEAR PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, spices, salt, and 1 tablespoon of the sugar. In a large bowl, toss the pears with the vanilla and flour/spice mixture.
• Roll out half of the pie dough and line a pie dish with it. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar over the bottom of the crust. Pour the pear mixture on top. Roll out the other half of the pie dough and place it on top of the crust. Trim and crimp the edges.
• Brush the top of the crust with the heavy cream. Place pie on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Bake in preheated 425 degree oven for 20 minutes. Lower the temperature to 375 degrees F and bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly, about 50-60 minutes. Tent with foil or a pie crust shield if the crust browns too quickly before the pie is done baking.
• Remove from oven and cool in the pie pan on a cooling rack for a minimum of 2 hours before slicing. Serve with whipped cream if desired.

MY SPICY AUTUMN PEAR PIE

Steps:

• 1. In large bowl, whisk/mix first 6 ingredients. In medium bowl, slice cored, peeled pears into lemon juice, tossing as you go to prevent browning. Stir pears into dry mixture well. Stir in vanilla. Pour into unbaked 9" deepdish pie shell. Dot top with butter. Cover with lattice top, or top of your choice. Tuck top edge under bottom edge, pinch/flute edge all the way around well to seal. Cut slits in top if not making a lattice top. Brush top with a little water very lightly, sprinkle top with cinnamon/sugar. Bake in 425º oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350º, bake 45-50 minutes longer. Watch for any excessive browning on edges, may need to cover them lightly with foil. Serve warm with Butter Pecan ice cream if desired! Makes a large pie.

AUTUMN SPICED APPLE AND PEAR HAND PIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Stir apple, pear, brown sugar, vanilla extract, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt together in a bowl. Whisk egg and water together in a small bowl.
• Roll pastry out on a lightly floured surface; cut into circles with a 3- to 4-inch round cookie cutter. Spoon a small amount of apple mixture onto center of each pastry circle; fold circles in half and press firmly to seal edges. Crimp with a fork, if desired. Place pies on prepared baking sheet.
• Cut 3 small slits in top of each hand pie with a sharp knife. Brush surface of pies with egg mixture; sprinkle with decorating sugar.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly golden, about 25 minutes; allow pies to cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
• Melt chocolate chips in a microwave-safe glass or ceramic bowl in 15-second intervals, stirring after each melting, 1 to 2 minutes. Drizzle melted chocolate over pies.

SPICED PEAR & APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Prepare recipe for double crust pie. Roll out dough for bottom crust. Place in 9-inch pie plate. Press to fit without stretching dough. Trim even with pie plate. Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine pears, apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon, ginger, salt and lemon juice in large bowl. Spoon into prepared pie crust.
• Roll out dough for top crust. Place onto filled pie or cut into strips creating a lattice top. Trim 1/2-inch beyond edge. Fold under bottom crust edge to seal. Crimp and flute edges. Cut slits in top crust or prick with fork to allow steam to escape. Brush crust with milk and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
• Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown.

SPICED APPLE AND PEAR PIE

Steps:

• Dough:
• Whisk the flour, sugar, and salt together in a medium bowl. Rub 1/4 cup of the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingers until completely absorbed. Then rub in the remaining butter until it resembles cornmeal mixed with pea-size bits of butter. (If it gets warm and sticky, refrigerate it to chill.)
• Beat the egg with 3 tablespoons of the water; then drizzle it evenly over the dough. Lightly stir the dough together with a fork. (The dough should just hold together when you squeeze it together, with some dry crumbly bits.) If the dough is really dry, sprinkle it with the final tablespoon of water. (To make the dough in food processor, see below.)
• Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap and shape into disks. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 2 days. (The dough can be frozen for 2 months. Defrost dough in the fridge overnight.)
• Filling:
• Finely grate the lemon zest and set aside. Peel, core and then slice both the apple and pear into 1/2-inch slices. Squeeze the lemon juice over the fruit, then toss fruit with the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, salt and nutmeg.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the fruit and cook, stirring until the sugar dissolves and juices simmer, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, uncovered, until the fruit softens and the juices evaporate some, about 10 minutes. Evenly mix the flour into the fruit; then cook about a minute more to thicken the juices slightly. Stir in the vanilla and lemon zest; and remove from the heat. (The filling should resemble a tight compote.) Cool completely.
• Form the pie:
• Lightly dust the work surface with flour. Roll a disk of dough into an 11 to 12-inch circle. Transfer the dough to 9-inch glass pie pan (see photo), trimming so it hangs about 1/2-inch over the edge of the pan. Fill the crust with the prepared fruit so it mounds slightly in the center. Roll the remaining dough into a 12-inch circle. Brush the rim of the crust with some of the egg.
• Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and unroll it over the fruit so it hangs over the edge of the pie pan by about 1/2-inch. Trim crust if needed, reserving the scraps for decorations or for patching, if needed. Fold the top crust edge under the bottom one, then press the edges together to seal. Cut trimmed scraps into designs if desired and set aside. Flute the crust by pressing a finger into the crust against the other hand's index finger and thumb to make an even impression. Repeat every 1/2 inch around the pie to create a ruffled edge (see photo). Refrigerate the pie for at least 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat to 425 degrees F.
• Brush pie with egg and place cut dough designs on top if desired. Brush again and sprinkle with sugar. Cut 6 to 8 small steam vents into the top of the dough. Place pie on a baking sheet and cook for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 375 degrees F. Bake until the crust (both top and bottom) is golden brown, about 50 minutes more. If the edges begin to brown too quickly, cut a pie shield out of a piece of aluminum foil and cover the edges (see photo). Cool on a rack.
• Serve pie warm or at room temperature with whipped or ice cream. Keep pie, covered, at room temperature for a day, or refrigerate for up to four.

PEAR GRUYERE PIE

Steps:

• Place flour, cheese, sugar and salt in a food processor; pulse until blended. Add butter; pulse until butter is the size of peas. While pulsing, add just enough ice water to form moist crumbs. Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or overnight., In a large saucepan, combine water, wine, sugar, cinnamon stick, vanilla and spices; bring to a boil. Add pears to poaching liquid. Cook, uncovered, 10-15 minutes or until tender., Using a slotted spoon, remove pears and cool slightly. Refrigerate until cooled; discard cinnamon stick. Meanwhile, return poaching liquid to a boil. Cook 12-15 minutes or until liquid is reduced to 3/4 cup. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into reduced liquid. Return to a boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Pour into a 1-cup measuring cup. Cool slightly; refrigerate until chilled., Preheat oven to 400°. On a well-floured surface, roll 1 dough portion to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. Trim crust to 1/2 in. beyond rim of plate; flute edge. Add pear filling; pour syrup over pears. Roll remaining dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle. Cut decorative cutouts from remaining crust and arrange over filling; re-roll scraps as needed. Brush crust with egg. Place pie on a baking sheet., Bake 30-40 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cover edge with foil during the last 15 minutes to prevent overbrowning if necessary. Cool on a wire rack. If desired, serve with ice cream.