Name: Streusel Topped Fresh Pear Pie
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 70 min
Ingredients: 1 ½ cups Flour; ½ tsp Salt; ¼ cup Sugar; ⅓ cup Shortening; ½ cup Ice water; 4 cups Peeled and sliced pears (about 5 medium size pears; choose firm pears); ½ cup Granulated sugar; 4 tbsp Flour; ¾ tsp Cinnamon; ¼ tsp Nutmeg; ½ tsp Salt; The zest of a lemon; The juice of half a lemon; ½ cup Flour; ¼ cup Brown sugar; ¼ cup White sugar; ¼ tsp Cinnamon; Dash of salt; 4 tbsp Salted butter

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Pears are often delicious when eaten fresh out of hand, but did you know that pears are also delightful fruits to include in your baking? Whether you want to make a cobbler, pie, or fruit crisp, why not use pears? You can make a dessert that only features pears or you can add a pear or two to your apple or peach pie to add extra texture and flavor to the fruit in the filling.

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Streusel Topped Fresh Pear Pie

April Freeman

While pumpkin and apple are favorite flavors of fall desserts, there is another fruit that comes into its prime in the fall as well. Fresh pears are at their peak in late summer and early fall, and you can use this recipe for our Streusel Topped Fresh Pear Pie to make them into a delicious, warm, and perfectly textured pie for your family.

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Prep Time 25 mins

Cook Time 45 mins

Total Time 1 hr 10 mins

Servings Slices of Pie

Equipment

Oven
Medium-Sized Bowl
Pastry blender
Rolling Pin
9 Inch Pie Pan
Wooden Spoon
Aluminum foil

Ingredients

Crust Ingredients

1 ½ cups Flour
½ tsp Salt
¼ cup Sugar
⅓ cup Shortening
½ cup Ice water

Pie Filling Ingredients

4 cups Peeled and sliced pears about 5 medium size pears; choose firm pears
½ cup Granulated sugar
4 tbsp Flour
¾ tsp Cinnamon
¼ tsp Nutmeg
½ tsp Salt
The zest of a lemon
The juice of half a lemon

Streusel Topping Ingredients

½ cup Flour
¼ cup Brown sugar
¼ cup White sugar
¼ tsp Cinnamon
Dash of salt
4 tbsp Salted butter

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium sized bowl, stir together the flour, the salt, and the sugar with a fork. Add the shortening to the bowl and use a pastry blender to cut the shortening into the dry ingredients. Slowly drizzle about half of the ice water into the bowl. Stir with a fork, tossing the water into the ingredients. Add some of the rest of the water, a little at a time, stirring gently just until the dough begins to stick together and pull away from the sides of the bowl.
Once the dough forms a clump, use your hands to press it together into a ball. Take the ball of dough out of the bowl and place it on a lightly floured surface. Press the dough ball gently into a disk and use a rolling pin to roll it out to fit a nine inch pie pan. Gently fold the pie crust into fourths and place it in the pie pan. Unfold the pie crust, centering it in the pan. Make a fluted rim with your fingers.
In a large sized bowl, stir the pears together with the sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Toss the ingredients until the pears are coated with the dry ingredients.
Use a wooden spoon to scrape the filling into the crust-lined pie pan. Press the filling down firmly into an even layer.
Using the bowl in which you mixed the pie crust, you will now create the streusel topping. Stir together the flour, brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Use a pastry blender to cut the butter into this mixture until coarse crumbs form.
Sprinkle the crumb mixture onto the top of the pie filling, scattering it on top of the fruit in an even layer.
Put the pie into your preheated oven, baking it for 40 to 45 minutes or until it is lightly browned on top. You may want to use a pie shield or some strips of aluminum foil to protect the edges of the pie crust as it bakes.
Remove the pie from the oven and let it cool for at least an hour. Serve the pie warm or at room temperature. To store leftovers, cover the top of the pie tightly with aluminum foil and store it in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Notes

If you are wondering what kinds of pears you should use for this recipe, you are not alone! Many people eat pears fresh and don’t think about what kinds of pears are best for baking. Bartlett, Bosc and Anjou pears are good choices for baking, although in our recipe we used Asian pears.

The main thing for this recipe is to use the pears for pie when they are still firm. Pears continue ripening and softening after they are picked, and if your fresh pears are too ripe when you bake with them they will turn too mushy while they are in the oven.

While many people like pies with a top crust, this recipe for Streusel Topped Fresh Pear Pie takes some inspiration from the classic Dutch Apple Pie and is topped with a tasty, crunchy layer of streusel on top.

However, if you do not care for streusel-topped pies and would rather have a traditional crust, simply omit the streusel and double your pie crust recipe, topping the filling with a crust. However, you should take care not to forget to cut vent slits into the top pie crust to prevent the steam from making the pie filling bubble over during baking.

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