Berry Best Pear Pie Recipes

Steps:

• For crust:
• Blend all purpose flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add chilled butter pieces and cut in using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 3 tablespoons ice water and process until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 30 minutes. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. Let soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.)
• Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Fold edges under, forming high-standing rim 3/4 inch above dish sides; crimp edges decoratively. Freeze crust 25 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake crust until light golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cool while preparing filling. Maintain oven temperature.
• For filling:
• Combine pear pieces, 3 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons orange juice and salt in large nonstick skillet. Cook over medium heat until pears are tender but still hold their shape, stirring often, about 6 minutes. Transfer pear mixture to large bowl; cool to room temperature. Add blueberries, flour and remaining 6 tablespoons sugar to pears; toss gently to blend.
• Transfer filling to cooled pie crust, mounding filling slightly in center. Sprinkle with Walnut-Streusel Topping. Bake pie until juices bubble thickly, fruit is tender and streusel topping is golden brown, about 1 hour 5 minutes. Cool pie on rack until lukewarm. Cut pie into wedges and serve.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine sugar and flour; add the pears and toss gently to coat. Spoon into pastry shell. In a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over pie. , Bake at 400° for 45-50 minutes or until pears are tender and topping is golden brown. Cover edges loosely with foil during the last 30 minutes to prevent overbrowning. Cool on a wire rack.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Place a baking sheet on the bottom oven rack.
• Combine sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and lemon zest in mixing bowl. Roll out half the pastry and line a 9-inch pie pan.
• Arrange pear slices in layers in the pastry-lined pan, sprinkling the sugar mixture over each layer. Dot with butter and sprinkle with lemon juice.
• Roll out remaining dough for the top crust. Use your finger dipped in a small bowl of water to moisten the rim of the bottom crust. Place top crust over filling, and trim edge using kitchen shears or a sharp paring knife. Fold edge under bottom crust, pressing to seal. Flute edge. Cut slits in top crust to allow steam to escape.
• Bake in the preheated oven on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 35 to 40 minutes longer. Allow to cool several hours before serving.

Steps:

• To make the poached pears, put the sugar in a big saucepan with the lemon peel, cardamom pods, nutmeg, cinnamon and 1 litre water. Bring to a gentle simmer. Lower the pear halves into the liquid and place a circle of baking parchment on top, so they cook through properly. Leave over a medium heat, so that a few bubbles break the surface every now and then, and cook for 15 mins. Allow to cool in the liquid. Can be chilled overnight if making ahead.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Dust the work surface with a little plain flour. Roll out the pastry so it's big enough to line a 20-23cm frying pan, pie dish or shallow baking tin. Grate a little nutmeg over the surface, then gently roll again to help it stick. Lift over your dish, press into the corners, then trim the edges. You can give it a pretty crimped edge, if you like, then wrap the off-cuts in cling film and keep in the fridge until needed. Scrunch up a sheet of baking parchment, unfold, and lay it over the pastry. Fill with baking beans and bake for 15 mins. Remove the beans and parchment, brush with some of the beaten egg and return to the oven for another 5 mins.
• Meanwhile, make the filling. Cook the remaining pears and sugar in a small pan until the pears are soft enough to squash with the back of a spoon. Drain off 3 tbsp of the poaching liquid and mix this with the cornflour, then pour back into the pears and continue cooking and squashing for another minute or so, until the filling has thickened.
• Sprinkle the ground almonds over the pastry case, then add the squashed pear mixture and scatter over the berries. Remove the poached pears from their liquid and blot them on some kitchen paper. Arrange them face-up among the pear mixture and berries. Using a mini pastry cutter, cut little shapes from the leftover pastry, then arrange them on top. Brush the pastry pieces with beaten egg and sprinkle with the demerara sugar. Bake for 45-50 mins until the pastry is golden and berry juice is bubbling. Cool for 10-15 mins before serving with custard, cream or ice cream, if you like.

Steps:

• For the crust
• Place the butter, shortening and cranberry juice into the refrigerator for 1 hour.
• In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour salt and sugar by pulsing 3 to 4 times. Add the butter and pulse 5 to 6 times until the texture looks mealy. Add the shortening and pulse another 3 to 4 times until incorporated.
• Remove the lid of the food processor and sprinkle in 5 tablespoons of the cranberry juice. Replace the lid and pulse 5 times. Add more cranberry juice as needed, and pulse again until the mixture holds together when squeezed. Weight the dough and divide in half. Shape each half into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
• Peel and core the pears. Slice into 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick wedges. Toss all of the pears with 1/4 cup of the sugar, place in a colander set over a large bowl and allow to drain for 1 1/2 hours.
• Transfer the drained liquid to a small saucepan, place over medium heat and reduce to 2 tablespoons. Set aside to cool. Toss the pears with the remaining sugar, cranberries, tapioca flour, jam, cranberry juice, lemon juice, salt and nutmeg.
• For assembling and baking the pie:
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Remove 1 disk of dough from the refrigerator. Place the dough onto a lightly floured piece of waxed paper. Lightly sprinkle the top of the dough with flour and roll out into a 12-inch circle. Place into a 9 1/2 to 10-inch tart pan that is 2 inches deep. Gently press the dough into the sides of the pan, crimping and trimming the edges as necessary. Set a pie bird in the center of the bottom of the pan. Place the pears into the unbaked pie shell in concentric circles starting around the edges, working towards the center and forming a slight mound in the center of the pie. Sprinkle the cranberries a little at a time as you go.
• Pour over any liquid that remains in the bowl. Roll out the second pie dough as the first. Place this dough over the apples, pressing the pie bird through the top crust. Press together the edges of the dough around the rim of the pie. Brush the top crust with the reduced juice everywhere except around the edge of the pie. Trim excess dough. Place the pie on a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake on the floor of the oven for 30 minutes. Transfer to the lower rack of the oven and continue to bake another 20 minutes or until the pears are cooked through but not mushy. Remove to a rack and cool a minimum of 4 hours or until almost room temperature.