Spiced Gingered 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.

PEAR-GINGER PIE

Steps:

• Make the crust: Sift the flour, baking powder and fine salt into a large bowl. Cut in the butter and lard with a pastry blender or your fingers until the mixture looks like coarse meal with pea-size bits of butter. Beat the egg yolk, vinegar and 1 1/2 tablespoons cold water in a liquid measuring cup with a fork. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and gently stir with a fork until just moistened. Gently gather into a ball, then shape into a disk on a lightly floured surface. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Roll out the dough into a 12-inch round on a lightly floured surface. Ease into a 9-inch pie plate. Fold the overhanging dough under itself and crimp the edge with your fingers; set aside.
• Make the filling: Gently toss the pears with the lemon zest, lemon juice, ginger and flour in a bowl. Spread the marmalade on the bottom of the pie crust. Add the pear mixture, keeping the pears as flat as possible.
• Make the topping: Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon and kosher salt in a medium bowl. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture until fine crumbs form. Scatter the topping over the filling and gently pat down.
• Bake the pie 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake until the topping is lightly browned and the filling is bubbling, about 40 more minutes (cover with foil if the topping is browning too quickly). Transfer to a rack and let cool completely.

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.

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 PEAR AND RAISIN PIE

Steps:

• Position rack in lowest third of oven; preheat to 400°F. Boil nectar in heavy medium saucepan until reduced to 1/3 cup, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Pour into large bowl; mix in raisins. Cool completely. Mix in sugar and next 5 ingredients, then pears.
• Roll out 1 dough disk on floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Brush inside and top edge of crust with some of glaze. Spoon filling into crust. Roll out second dough disk on floured surface to 13-inch round. Arrange dough over filling. Seal top crust to bottom crust at edge of dish. Trim double overhang to 3/4 inch. Fold under; crimp edge. Using small knife, cut slits in top crust to allow steam to escape. Brush crust and edge with glaze. If desired, roll out any dough scraps and cut out small pear-shaped decorations. Press decorations onto edge of crust.
• Bake pie until pears are tender, covering crust with foil if browning too quickly, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Place on rack; cool completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

SPICED PEAR PIE

Steps:

• Mix pears, brown sugar, tapioca, lemon juice, ginger and cinnamon in large bowl. Let stand 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Prepare pie crusts as directed on package for 2-crust pie, using 9-inch pie plate. Fill with fruit mixture. Dot with butter. Cover with second pie crust; seal and flute edge. Cut several slits into top crust to allow steam to escape.
• Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until juices form bubbles that burst slowly. Cool.

SUGAR AND SPICE PEAR PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. In a large bowl, combine first nine ingredients. Let stand 15 minutes., Line a 9-in. pie plate with bottom crust; trim pastry even with edge. Sprinkle with pecans and brown sugar; fill with pear mixture. Dot with butter. Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pie; place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edges. Cut slits in pastry., Bake 40-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cover edges with foil during the last 15 minutes to prevent overbrowning if necessary. Cool on a wire rack.

FIVE-SPICE PEAR-APPLE PIE

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine the apples, pears, lemon zest, lemon juice, orange juice, and 1/2 cup sugar; set aside for 10 minutes.
• In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, cornstarch, and five-spice powder; stir mixture into the fruit.
• Transfer filling to the chilled pie shell; smooth filling with you hands to even it out.
• Place the pie on the center oven rack of a 400° oven; bake for 30 minutes.
• To make the topping: put the flour, cornmeal, brown sugar, and salt in the container of a food processor; pulse several times to mix.
• Scatter the butter over the mixture; pulse until mixture resembles fine crumbs.
• Empty crumbs into a bowl and rub them between your fingers to make large, buttery crumbs; refrigerate until ready to use.
• Take pie out of oven and lower oven temperature to 375°.
• Distribute crumbs evenly over top of pie; tamp them down lightly.
• Return pie to oven (rotate pie so that the part that faced the back of the oven now faces the front); place a foil-lined baking sheet onto the rack below to catch any spills.
• Bake for 30 minutes or until the juices bubble thickly around the edge.
• Transfer pie to a wire rack and let cool at least 1 hour before serving.