I made that!

This is about my second (and favorite!) pie for PreThanksgiving this year: Ginger Almond Pear Pie. While most people gravitate to the sweeter fall pies, the fruit pies always get my vote. I am a freak for pear pie, and the addition of ginger and vanilla bean takes pear to a whole other level.

I started (as always) with a fully baked crust. Then I chopped up my pears. I like them pretty large, so they don’t turn to mush when baked. I tossed the pear chunks with sugar, the seeds from 1/2 of a vanilla bean, some shredded fresh ginger, cinnamon and cornstarch. I stuffed those into the pie crust, keeping in mind that they will lose about 50% of their volume when baked and cooled.

I then covered the spiced pears with some almond crisp topping that I had waiting for me in the freezer.

Then I baked it until the topping was browned and the pears were bubbling, which was about an hour. Once again, I don’t have a photo of the slice, but it was a mighty fine pie.

Nut Crisp Topping
 Recipe:

7 oz AP flour

3 oz brown sugar

3 oz sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

2/3 cups ground nuts

6 oz cold butter, cut into cubes

– Stir the dries together.

– Add the butter and mix in with your fingers. As the butter warms up, the mixture will begin to come together with a crumbly, but not sandy texture.

– Store in freezer until ready to be baked.