I might be getting a little ahead of myself here, but I am in super fall mode. It was still a blazing 95F here in Dallas this weekend but that did not stop me from starting my fall baking with this Spiced Red Pear Pie with Honey. Yuuuum! I will always prefer a pear over an apple and will always pick pear pie over apple pie – as much as I love apple pie. Red anjou pears are my favorite although they taste almost like the green anjou pears, but I tend to think their flavor is more intense and sweet. Of course, you can substitute with any pear you’d like. And the combination of the pears with ginger, cinnamon and honey is soo yummy and super fall-y.
The recipe doesn’t call for a lot of sugar and honey but you can drizzle the pie a little bit with honey if you want. I personally am not a fan of pies that are too sweet, I always go a little lighter on the sugar. This recipe is for a 9-inch pie but since I had only a little bit of pie dough left over in the freezer, I made a 5 inch pie here.
- 1¾ cups flour
- 1½ sticks Challenge Butter
- 2 tablespoon ice cold water
- 4 red anjou pears (or other pears)
- 1 heaping tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- Combine flour and salt in a medium bowl.
- Add spoons full of cold butter and combine with a fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Do not over mix.
- Add cold water and carefully knead the dough with your fingers. Add only enough water to moisten so dough begins to clump. Do not allow the dough to gather into a single mass.
- Form into a 4-5 inch disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling. This will make the dough more elastic and easier to handle. (Dough will keep several days in the refrigerator and several months in the freezer, but will need to be tempered before rolling.)
- Roll out ¾ of the dough on a lightly floured surface and fit pastry into a 9-inch pie pan. Trim away excess.
- Keep the remaining dough for the pie top.
- Bake the pie crust for 15 minutes at 350°F.
- Wash and dice the pears, place in a medium bowl.
- Add sugar, spices, honey and corn starch and mix with a spoon until combined.
- Place the filling into the pre-baked pie dish and cover with the remaining dough in a lattice pattern.
- Bake the pie for about 45 mins at 350F. If the top or edges turn too dark, cover with some aluminum foil.
- Enjoy it fresh out of the oven while its still warm!
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