Pear Pie

I've been trying to make more pies and tarts to improve my dough rolling skills. I'm not a huge apple pie fan but I thought that a pear pie sounded intriguing. As it turned out, you can't really tell that it's a pear pie versus an apple pie but regardless - it was delicious! The spices that were used were a bit different than what I'm used to in apple pies so that was a nice twist. The crust was yummy and flakey. The streusel topping was so good, but I think it's hard for streusel not to be. I'd definitely make this pie again. Plus, I discovered my favourite kind of pear is Anjou!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Mini Pear Loaves
Apple Pie with Brown Sugar Streusel Topping
Pecan Tassies
Russian Grandmothers' Apple Pie-Cake

Pear Pie
Adapted from Caprial's Desserts

I didn't end up using all the streusel.

5 firm pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
Pâte Brisée (recipe follows)
3 tbsp unsalted butter, diced
Streusel Topping (recipe follows)

In a large bowl, toss the pears with the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves; let sit for about 15 minutes to give the pears time to get juicy.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

On a well-floured board, roll the dough out into a 10 inch circle. Fit the dough into a 9 inch pie plate, fold the edges under, and flute. Pile the pears onto the crust, dot with the butter, and top with the streusel. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. If the crust and/or streusel starts to brown too quickly, cover it with aluminum foil loosely. Let cool for about 20 minutes before serving.

Pâte Brisée

Makes enough for a single-crust pie or a 9 to 10 inch tart.

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
3 tbsp (39 g) shortening
1/2 cup (4 oz) cold unsalted butter, diced
1/4 cup ice water

Place the flour, salt and sugar in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed to combine. With the mixer on low speed, add the shortening and better and mix just until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add the ice water and mix just until the dough starts to come together. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board and form it into a disk with your hands.

Streusel Topping

Makes about 2 cups

1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup flour
pinch of salt
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (4 oz) unsalted butter, diced

Combine the sugars, oats, cinnamon, flour, and salt in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With the mixer on low speed, add the vanilla extract and the butter, a few pieces at a time, and mix until crumbly. The streusel will keep refrigerated, for up to 1 week.