Gingered Pear Pie Recipes

Steps:

• Make the crust: Sift the flour, baking powder and fine salt into a large bowl. Cut in the butter and lard with a pastry blender or your fingers until the mixture looks like coarse meal with pea-size bits of butter. Beat the egg yolk, vinegar and 1 1/2 tablespoons cold water in a liquid measuring cup with a fork. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and gently stir with a fork until just moistened. Gently gather into a ball, then shape into a disk on a lightly floured surface. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Roll out the dough into a 12-inch round on a lightly floured surface. Ease into a 9-inch pie plate. Fold the overhanging dough under itself and crimp the edge with your fingers; set aside.
• Make the filling: Gently toss the pears with the lemon zest, lemon juice, ginger and flour in a bowl. Spread the marmalade on the bottom of the pie crust. Add the pear mixture, keeping the pears as flat as possible.
• Make the topping: Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon and kosher salt in a medium bowl. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture until fine crumbs form. Scatter the topping over the filling and gently pat down.
• Bake the pie 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake until the topping is lightly browned and the filling is bubbling, about 40 more minutes (cover with foil if the topping is browning too quickly). Transfer to a rack and let cool completely.

Steps:

• To make the topping, in a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest, and 1 pinch of salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or large fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside until ready to use.
• Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400˚F.
• In a large bowl, combine the pears, remaining sugar, remaining flour, remaining lemon zest, the ground and crystallized ginger, the currants, and 1 pinch of salt. Pour into the prepared pie crust and sprinkle evenly with the topping.
• Place the pie on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake for 15 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 350˚F., and continue to bake for 45 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly around the edges, the crust is golden, and the center of the pie is tender when pierced with a knife.
• Cool to room temperature before slicing and serving.
• Flaky Pie Crust Dough
• In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Using a pastry blender or fork, cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Sprinkle 3 to 4 tablespoons water over the mixture 1 tablespoon at a time while stirring the mixture with a fork. Add enough water to make the dough cohesive. Gently gather the dough with your hands and pat it firmly into a ball. (This dough is best when rolled out immediately.)
• To roll out the dough, press it into a 7-inch circle on a sheet of plastic wrap. Place another large sheet of plastic wrap on top of the dough. Roll the dough from the center into a 12-inch circle, flipping the dough (including the plastic) once or twice while rolling. With each flip, lift the plastic wrap from the surface of the dough to let the dough stretch, and then lay it back on the dough. When finished, lift the top piece of plastic wrap off the dough. Invert the dough, holding it from the underside with the remaining plastic wrap, into a 9-inch pie pan. Gently press the dough to mold it to the shape of the pan. Peel the plastic wrap off the dough.
• Trim the edges, leaving 1/2 inch of dough overhanging. Fold the overhanging dough under and crimp the edges to form a decorative rim. Chill until ready to use.
• Make Ahead
• Cover and refrigerate the pie for up to 5 days.

Steps:

• Crust:Combine flour, salt, butter, and cream cheese in a food processor; pulse until pea-size clumps form.
• With machine running, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until mixture just comes together when pressed in your hand. Divide in half; shape each half into a disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, about 45 minutes.
• Filling:Whisk together eggs and 2/3 cup granulated sugar in a medium bowl until thick and pale yellow. Whisk in flour, lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
• In a shallow saucepan, heat 1 stick butter, vanilla seeds, and ginger over medium-high until butter foams and browns, about 5 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve into bowl with egg mixture, discarding solids. Whisk until well combined.
• Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add pears and remaining 1 tablespoon granulated sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring, until pears are soft, about 5 minutes. Let cool about 10 minutes. Fold pear mixture into egg mixture.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disk of dough to a scant 1/8 inch thick. Using a 5-inch round cutter or a paring knife, cut out 5 rounds. Repeat with remaining disk. Gently press rounds into 10 cups of a standard 12-cup muffin tin, making pleats around edges and gently pressing to seal. Fill each with 1/4 cup filling. Refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake until crust and filling are golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer tin to a wire rack; let cool about 20 minutes. Unmold; let pies cool completely on rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

Steps:

• preheat oven to 425.
• combine first 6 ingredients in a saucepan stir in pear slices.
• bring to a boil on medium heat and boil for 1 minute.
• add butter and pour into pie shell.
• for topping combine flour, brown sugar, and ginger in a bowl.
• cut in butter until mixture becomes crumbly.
• stir in pecans and sprinkle over pears.
• bake for 20-25 minutes until topping is golden brown.

Steps:

• Combine raisins and ginger in heavy small saucepan. Add enough water to just cover. Simmer over low heat until liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Cool completely.
• Position rack in lowest third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Combine pears and next 6 ingredients in bowl. Stir in raisin mixture. Roll out 1 pie crust disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick). Roll up dough on rolling pin and transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie plate. Gently press into place. Trim edges of crust, leaving 1/4-inch overhang. Spoon pear mixture into pan, mounding in center.
• Roll out second crust disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch-diameter round. Roll up on rolling pin and unroll over pie. Trim edges, leaving 3/4 -inch overhang. Fold overhang of top crust under edge of bottom crust. Pinch edges together to seal. Crimp edges to make decorative border. Gather and reroll scraps. Cut out decorative shapes. Beat egg with milk in small bowl for glaze. Brush top of pie with glaze. Make several slashes in top crust so steam can escape.
• Bake pie until crust is golden brown and juices bubble up through slashes, covering crust edges with foil if browning too quickly, about 1 hour. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.