Pear Pie

I was asked to take a pie to a church function last night, so I thought I would share the recipe. We are a family of pie lovers, so it was hard when I baked this pie and then left the house without sharing with my husband. So while I was out with women and enjoying homemade pies he was home eating leftover gingerbread cake. I really can't feel to sorry for him. So if you ever get in the mood to make a pie try this pear pie , it is one of our favorites. Just a note about the crust recipe, I have found a local flour mill that has pastry flour and it is the best for pie crusts, scones, biscuits etc. Also I usually double, triple it etc . and keep the dry mix in the freezer and just pull it out when I want to make a pie---makes the process super quick. Another thing I also keep my flour in the freezer, one of the keys to making good pie crust is having all the ingredients cold.

Happy Pie Making!

Pear Pie

7-8 large pears, pared, cut into slices
3 TBL lemon juice
1/4-1/2 cup sugar
3 TBL flour
1 tsp. lemon zest
Mix all together and spoon into one 9 inch unbaked pie shell
Sprinkle with the following mixture:
[ 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp. each ginger & cinnamon
cut in 4 TBL butter until crumbly ]
Bake Pie in preheated 400 oven for about 45 minutes.

My Favorite Pie Crust

1 1/4 cups pastry flour or all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold
2 to 4 tablespoons ice water

I usually make a large batch in my food processor (make sure not to over mix--easy to do in the processor) WITHOUT the water. Then I package it into single pie crust portions in zip lock bags then freeze till needed. Add the water later by hand with a fork.

I also have made the pie crust including the water and then put in the freezer in individual single crust packets as well as actually rolled out the crust into the pie plate and then freeze till needed. I now prefer to just do the dry mix, works best for me.