Pear Cranberry Deep Dish Pie Recipes

JOANNA GAINES SHARES THE PIE SHE'LL BE MAKING THIS SEASON

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. In an extra-large bowl, combine granulated sugar, flour, nutmeg, and ginger. Add pear slices and cranberries; toss gently to coat.
• Prepare pastry for double-crust pie. On a lightly floured surface, use your hands to slightly flatten one pastry ball. Roll it from center to edges into a circle 13 inches in diameter. Fold the pastry into quarters. Unfold the pastry into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Ease pastry into plate without stretching it. Transfer pear mixture into the pastry-lined pie plate. Trim pastry even with pie plate rim.
• Roll remaining ball into a 12-inch-diameter circle. Using cookie cutters, cut a few small shapes from center of the pastry. Set shapes aside. Place pastry circle on filling; trim to 1/2 inch beyond edge of plate. Fold top pastry under bottom pastry. Crimp edge as desired. Brush top of pastry and dough cutouts with milk. Place cutouts on pastry, being careful not to cover openings. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
• Place pie plate on a foil-lined baking sheet. If desired, sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake 65 to 70 minutes or until filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack. Serve warm. If desired, garnish with sugared cranberries.

PEAR-CRANBERRY DEEP-DISH PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a very large bowl combine sugar, flour, nutmeg, and ginger. Add pear slices and cranberries; toss gently to coat. Transfer to an ungreased 2-quart round baking dish or casserole.
• On a lightly floured surface, flatten Pastry dough. Using a rolling pin, roll dough from center to edge into a circle that is about 1 inch wider than the top of the baking dish or casserole. Using cookie cutters, cut a few small shapes from center of the pastry. Set shapes aside. Transfer the dough circle to the top of the fruit mixture. Trim edge as needed to fit the baking dish or casserole; if desired, crimp edge. Brush top of pastry and dough cutouts with milk. Place dough cutouts on the pastry, leaving openings for air to vent.
• Place baking dish or casserole on a foil-lined baking sheet. If desired, sprinkle with demerara sugar. Bake, uncovered, for 55 to 60 minutes or until pear mixture is bubbly. Cool pie about 30 minutes on a wire rack and serve warm. (Or cool completely before serving.) Pastry
• In a medium bowl stir together cake flour, whole wheat flour, and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in chilled butter until pieces are pea-size. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon cold water over part of the flour mixture; gently toss with a fork. Push moistened dough to the side of the bowl. Repeat moistening flour mixture, using 1 tablespoon cold water at a time, until all of the flour mixture is moistened (3 to 4 tablespoons cold water total). Shape dough into a ball.

DEEP-DISH PEAR-CRANBERRY PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F.
• Mix 1-1/2 cups flour, baking powder and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon in large bowl; cut in 1/4 cup butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat egg and milk in small bowl with whisk until blended. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Stir in cheese. Form dough into ball.
• Place 2/3 of the dough on lightly floured surface; roll out to 15-inch square. Place onto bottom and up sides of 8-inch square baking dish. Turn under edge. Mix sugar, remaining flour and remaining cinnamon in large bowl. Add pears and cranberries; toss lightly. Spoon into pastry shell; dot with remaining butter.
• Roll out remaining dough to 12-inch square; cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips. Place strips over filling to form lattice; seal and flute edge.
• Bake 35 to 40 min. or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

PEAR-CRANBERRY PIE WITH FAUX LATTICE

Steps:

• On a lightly floured work surface, roll 1 disk of dough to 1/8 inch thick. Fit into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Trim edges flush with rim. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
• On a piece of lightly floured parchment paper, roll out remaining disk of dough to 1/8 inch thick. Top with an inverted 9-inch pie plate or a cake ring, and gently press to make a light indentation (this will be your guide for cutting the lattice to fit the pie). Using a 3/4-inch square cutter, cut a lattice pattern out of the round, leaving at least 1/2 inch between cutouts and edge of round. Transfer squares to a parchment-lined baking sheet. To make partial squares where the lattice meets the rounded edge, make a very light indentation with the cutter, then cut out the portion of the square that is inside the round with a knife. Using a paring knife or a pizza cutter, cut out the round, leaving an additional 1/2 inch of dough beyond the marked circle. Reroll scraps, and cut out as many additional squares as possible. Transfer parchment with the lattice top to a baking sheet. Refrigerate lattice top and squares for 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees, with racks in middle and lower positions. Peel, halve, and core pears. Very thinly slice 3 pears lengthwise, and cut remaining 2 pears into 8 wedges each.
• Toss together pears, cranberries, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a large bowl. Using the tip of a paring knife, scrape vanilla seeds over pear mixture, and toss until seeds have been evenly incorporated. Pour filling into piecrust, gently pressing to make it as level as possible. Dot filling with butter.
• To make egg wash, whisk together egg yolk and cream in a small bowl. Lightly brush edge of piecrust with egg wash. Remove lattice crust and squares from refrigerator. Gently place another baking sheet on top of lattice, and carefully invert. Slide lattice on top of filling, and remove parchment. Gently press edges of crust to seal, trimming edges of lattice if necessary.
• Lightly brush lattice with egg wash. Arrange dough squares around edge of pie, overlapping them slightly. Lightly brush top of each square with egg wash as you work to help them adhere.
• Place a foil-lined baking sheet on lower oven rack to catch any juices. Place pie on middle rack, and bake until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling gently, 90 to 100 minutes. Tent with foil if crust browns too quickly. Let pie cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat preserves in a saucepan over medium heat until warm. Puree in a food processor until smooth. Press through a fine sieve into a bowl or another saucepan, and reheat if necessary. Brush warm pie with a generous amount of warm apricot glaze. Let cool completely on rack.