Pear Almond Pie Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. Make pie crusts as directed on box for Two-Crust Pie, using 9-inch glass pie plate. Shape almond paste into a disk. On lightly floured surface, roll or pat into 8-inch circle. Place in bottom of pie crust.
• In large bowl, mix pears, 2 tablespoons sugar, the flour, apple pie spice and lemon juice; mix well. Spoon over almond paste in crust. Place top crust over pears. Seal edges and flute. Cut slits in crust to vent steam. Brush top crust with egg. Sprinkle with almonds and 1 teaspoon sugar.
• Bake 55 to 65 minutes or until pears are tender and crust is deep golden brown. Cool at least 1 hour before serving.

Steps:

• On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 10-in. circle. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. , In a large bowl, combine 3/4 cup sugar and flour; add pears and toss to coat. Spoon over the crust to within 2 in. of edges. Fold up edges of crust over filling, leaving center uncovered. Sprinkle with remaining sugar. , Bake at 450° for 15 minutes or until crust is golden and filling is bubbly. Sprinkle with almonds; bake 5 minutes longer. Using the parchment, slide tart onto a wire rack to cool.

Steps:

• Make crust:
• Blend flour, marzipan and salt in processor until marzipan is finely ground. Add butter and shortening and cut in using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix 3 tablespoons pear nectar and almond extract and blend in using on/off turns. Gradually blend in enough pear nectar by tablespoonfuls to form moist clumps. Gather dough into ball. Divide dough into 2 pieces. Flatten each into disk. Wrap each disk in plastic and refrigerate 2 hours. (Dough can be prepared up to 3 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. Soften dough slightly at room temperature before rolling out.)
• Make filling:
• Grind brown sugar and vanilla bean in processor 1 minute. Add cornstarch and cardamom and process until vanilla bean is almost completely blended. Transfer to large bowl. Add pears and pear nectar; toss to coat.
• Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Roll out 1 dough disk between sheets of floured parchment paper to 13-inch round. Peel off top sheet of parchment. Invert dough into 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Peel off top sheet of parchment. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch. Transfer filling to crust. Roll out second dough disk between sheets of floured parchment to 13-inch round. Drape dough over filling. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch. Press edges together to seal; fold under. Crimp edge decoratively.
• Gather scraps and reroll between sheets of floured parchment. Cut out leaf shapes using cookie cutter. Arrange atop pie. Brush top of crust (not edge) with glaze. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Cut several slits in top to allow steam to escape during baking. Bake pie 15 minutes. Cover crust edge with foil to prevent over-browning. Continue baking until crust browns and pears are almost tender when pierced with skewer, about 40 minutes. Cool pie on rack at least 1 1/2 hours. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.