Celebrating National Pie Day with Pear Pie

Last week I got a bag of Bosc pears.  By this week they were beautifully ripened and juicy.  But there were more of them than my family would likely eat before they got over ripe.  So naturally they needed to go into a pie.

I found a recipe in the cookbook Pie by Ken Haedrich, and made it last night with  a few changes.  We invited my friend Laurie over to share the pie and an evening of conversation.  She brought Butter Pecan ice cream which was wonderful with this pie. I then celebrated National Pie Day this morning by having another piece of this pie for breakfast.  I definitely give this pie 5 stars, it is delightful!

Pear Pie with Streusel Topping

Pastry for single crust pie, in deep pie dish

Filling:

5 cups peeled and sliced ripe pears

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (I was out of lemons, so used the juice of one lime - turned out great)

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

pinch of salt

Streusel topping:

1 cup flour

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons cold butter cut into chunks

1 tablespoon milk

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Put pears in large bowl and add other filling ingredients.  Stir lightly to coat pears with the sugar and spices.
• Pour pear filling into prepared pastry lined pie pan and smooth them down with your hands.  Place in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes.
• In the meantime, prepare the streusel topping.  Cut the butter into the dry ingredients, then stir in the milk.  (You can also pulse in a food processor).  Rub the mixture between  your fingers to make large crumbs.  Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Remove the pie from the oven and reduce the temperature to 375 degrees.  Carefully dump the streusel crumbs onto the center of the pie, then spread evenly over the top of the pie with your hands.  Return the pie to the oven and bake for another 30 minutes.
• Let cook for at least 30 minutes before serving.