Lattice Pie With Pears And Vanilla Brown Butter Recipes

Steps:

• In a small bowl, beat butter, cream cheese, sugar and salt until blended. Gradually beat in flour. Divide dough in 2 portions so that 1 portion is slightly larger than the other. Shape each into a rectangle; wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or overnight., Preheat oven to 350°. For filling, in a large bowl, combine sugar, flour and lemon zest. Add pears and candied fruit; toss to coat., On a lightly floured surface, roll out larger portion of dough into an 18x13-in. rectangle. Transfer to a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of pan; add filling., Roll out remaining dough to a 1/8-in.-thick rectangle; cut into 1/2-in.-wide strips. Arrange over filling in a lattice pattern. Trim and seal strips to edge of bottom pastry. Brush pastry with milk; sprinkle with coarse sugar., Bake 40-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack.

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.

Steps:

• For crust:
• Blend flour, salt and sugar in processor. Add butter; using on/off turns, process until butter is cut into 1/4-inch pieces. Add 6 tablespoons ice water. Using on/off turns, blend until dough comes together, adding more water by tablespoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather into ball; divide into 2 pieces. Flatten pieces into disks; wrap in plastic. Chill at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day.
• For filling:
• Mix first 7 ingredients in bowl. Mix in pears and cornstarch. Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 400°F. Roll out 1 dough disk on lightly floured surface to 13- to 14-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish; spoon in filling. Roll out second dough disk to 12-inch round; using ruler as aid, cut dough into 3/4-inch-wide strips. Lay strips over filling, spacing 3/4 inch apart. Lay additional strips at right angle to first strips, forming lattice. Trim overhang to 3/4 inch. Fold dough edge and strip ends under; crimp to seal. Brush dough strips (not edge) with yolk mixture.
• Bake pie until crust is golden and pears are tender, about 50 minutes; cool.