Spiced Gingered Pear Pie Recipes

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.

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine the cornstarch and ginger. Stir in the water, corn syrup, lemon juice and zest until smooth. Gently stir in pears. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Remove from the heat; add butter. Pour into pastry shell., For topping, combine the flour, brown sugar and ginger in a small bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in pecans. Sprinkle over pears. Bake at 425° for 20-25 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping is browned. Cool on a wire rack.

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.

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.

Steps:

• For crust:
• Whisk first 3 ingredients in large bowl. Add lard and butter. Rub together with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse damp meal. Add 1/2 cup ice water and vinegar. Stir with fork until moist clumps form, adding more water by tablespoonfuls if dry. Gather dough into ball. Divide into 4 pieces; flatten into disks. Wrap each disk in plastic and chill at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days.
• For filling:
• Using spice grinder, finely grind first 4 ingredients. Transfer spice mixture to medium bowl; mix in sugar, flour, and salt. Divide pears between 2 large bowls; mix half of spice mixture and 2 tablespoons cream into each.
• Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Roll out 1 dough disk on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Roll out second dough disk to 12-inch round. Mound 1 bowl of pear filling in crust. Brush overhang lightly with milk. Drape second crust over; press top and bottom overhangs together. Fold under, forming edge of pie. Crimp edge decoratively. Cut 3-inch X in center of top crust; brush with milk and sprinkle with raw sugar. Place on rimmed baking sheet. Repeat rolling and assembly with remaining dough disks and pear filling.
• Bake pies 40 minutes. Tent with foil to prevent overbrowning. Bake until crusts are golden brown, pears are tender, and juices are bubbling thickly, about 40 minutes longer. Cool completely. Serve with ice cream.
• *Brown star-shaped seedpods; available in the spice section of some supermarkets and at Asian markets and specialty foods stores.

Steps:

• Put the sugar, vinegar, orange zest and juice, ginger, bay leaves and peppercorns in a large pan. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar, then boil for 5 mins.
• Meanwhile, peel, core and halve or quarter the pears, depending on size. Add the pears to the pan and poach gently for 10-15 mins until they are just tender. Remove with a slotted spoon and pack into warm sterilised Kilner jars with rubber seals (see tip below).
• Boil the vinegar mixture hard to reduce by a third, then pour over the pears, including the spices. The pears need to be completely covered with the liquid. Fit the rubber seal and clamp the jar tightly closed. Reserve any leftover syrup for topping up the jars later, as the pears will absorb the syrup over time. Store for up to 2 months.

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.

Steps:

• Crust:Combine flour, salt, butter, and cream cheese in a food processor; pulse until pea-size clumps form.
• With machine running, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until mixture just comes together when pressed in your hand. Divide in half; shape each half into a disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, about 45 minutes.
• Filling:Whisk together eggs and 2/3 cup granulated sugar in a medium bowl until thick and pale yellow. Whisk in flour, lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
• In a shallow saucepan, heat 1 stick butter, vanilla seeds, and ginger over medium-high until butter foams and browns, about 5 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve into bowl with egg mixture, discarding solids. Whisk until well combined.
• Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add pears and remaining 1 tablespoon granulated sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring, until pears are soft, about 5 minutes. Let cool about 10 minutes. Fold pear mixture into egg mixture.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disk of dough to a scant 1/8 inch thick. Using a 5-inch round cutter or a paring knife, cut out 5 rounds. Repeat with remaining disk. Gently press rounds into 10 cups of a standard 12-cup muffin tin, making pleats around edges and gently pressing to seal. Fill each with 1/4 cup filling. Refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake until crust and filling are golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer tin to a wire rack; let cool about 20 minutes. Unmold; let pies cool completely on rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

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.)

Steps:

• Combine raisins and ginger in heavy small saucepan. Add enough water to just cover. Simmer over low heat until liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Cool completely.
• Position rack in lowest third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Combine pears and next 6 ingredients in bowl. Stir in raisin mixture. Roll out 1 pie crust disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick). Roll up dough on rolling pin and transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie plate. Gently press into place. Trim edges of crust, leaving 1/4-inch overhang. Spoon pear mixture into pan, mounding in center.
• Roll out second crust disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch-diameter round. Roll up on rolling pin and unroll over pie. Trim edges, leaving 3/4 -inch overhang. Fold overhang of top crust under edge of bottom crust. Pinch edges together to seal. Crimp edges to make decorative border. Gather and reroll scraps. Cut out decorative shapes. Beat egg with milk in small bowl for glaze. Brush top of pie with glaze. Make several slashes in top crust so steam can escape.
• Bake pie until crust is golden brown and juices bubble up through slashes, covering crust edges with foil if browning too quickly, about 1 hour. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.