Moraga Pear Pie Recipes

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix flour and salt; cut in shortening until crumbly. Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until dough holds together when pressed. Shape into a disk; wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or overnight., Preheat oven to 425°. In a large bowl, toss pears with lemon juice. In a small bowl, mix flour, 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon; add to pear mixture and toss to coat., On a lightly floured surface, roll half of dough into an 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. Trim crust even with rim. Add filling; dot with butter., Roll remaining dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle. Place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edges. Cut slits in top. Sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 45-50 minutes. Cover edges loosely with foil during the last 20 minutes if needed to prevent overbrowning. Remove foil. 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:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Fill the pie shell with the pear slices. For an open-face pie, arrange the slices in circular spirals.
• In a small bowl, beat together the sugar, butter, flour and eggs. Pour over the pears.
• Place the pie on a cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 350 and bake 1 hour.
• Cover loosely with foil to prevent over browning during the last half hour of cooking time.
• Serve warm.

Steps:

• Make the dough: Whisk together egg and sour cream. Whisk in milk and water. Stir in flour, 1 cup at a time.
• Turn out dough onto a floured surface. (Dough will be loose and sticky.) Using a bench scraper, turn and fold dough to knead, dusting with flour as needed, until elastic and no longer sticky, 8 to 10 minutes. (Dough will come together as you knead it. Be careful not to add too much flour, since it will toughen the dough.) Cover with an inverted bowl; let rest for 1 hour.
• Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a clean linen towel, and dust generouslywith cornmeal to prevent sticking.
• Roll out 1 piece of dough on a lightly floured surface into a 1/8-inch-thick round (keep other pieces covered).
• Cut out circles very close together, using a 3-inch cutter or glass (5 inches for the plum version). Cover with plasticwrap to prevent dough from drying. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Fill pierogi: Place filling in center of each dough circle. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Holding 1 circle in your hand, fold dough over filling. Pinch edges, forming a well-sealed crescent.
• Transfer to cornmeal-dusted towel, and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining dough circles and filling. Working in batches, transfer pierogi to boiling water. They will sink to the bottom and then rise. Once they have risen, cook through, about 2 minutes more (or up to 4 minutes for plum pierogi, depending on ripeness). For savory pierogi, coat a platter with half the butter. Transfer pierogi to platter using a slotted spoon. Drizzle tops with remaining butter, and season with salt. For sweet pierogi, transfer to a platter using a slotted spoon, and dot with sour cream.