Best Bosc Pear Pie Recipes

FRESH PEAR PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Place a baking sheet on the bottom oven rack.
• Combine sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and lemon zest in mixing bowl. Roll out half the pastry and line a 9-inch pie pan.
• Arrange pear slices in layers in the pastry-lined pan, sprinkling the sugar mixture over each layer. Dot with butter and sprinkle with lemon juice.
• Roll out remaining dough for the top crust. Use your finger dipped in a small bowl of water to moisten the rim of the bottom crust. Place top crust over filling, and trim edge using kitchen shears or a sharp paring knife. Fold edge under bottom crust, pressing to seal. Flute edge. Cut slits in top crust to allow steam to escape.
• Bake in the preheated oven on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 35 to 40 minutes longer. Allow to cool several hours before serving.

PEAR-POMEGRANATE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Quarter 6 pears. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, bring 3 tablespoons molasses to a boil. Let simmer about 2 minutes, until molasses thickens. Arrange half the quartered pears in a single layer in skillet. Sprinkle 1 1/2 tablespoons butter over pears. Cook, turning occasionally, until pears are well caramelized on all sides (but not cooked through), about 5 minutes.
• Scrape pears and molasses into a bowl. Add tapioca and toss to combine. Repeat cooking process with remaining molasses, butter and quartered pears. Add second batch of pears to bowl; combine.
• Thinly slice remaining pears and add to bowl. Stir in sugar, ginger and salt. On a lightly floured surface, roll out both crusts to 12-inch circles. Place one crust in 9-inch pie plate. Scrape pear filling into crust.
• Cut remaining dough into strips about 1 inch thick. Top pie with strips, weaving them into a lattice. Crimp edges to seal. Place pie on a foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet.
• Bake for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking until crust is dark golden and pears are tender when pricked with a fork, about 45 minutes more. Let cool for 30 minutes before slicing.

HOMEMADE PEAR PIE FROM SCRATCH

Steps:

• Mix flour and salt together in a food processor. Add cold butter and vegetable shortening; process until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in water 1 tablespoon at a time until a thick and sticky dough forms. Continue processing until dough forms a firm ball, about 15 minutes.
• Place dough in a bowl. Cover with a wet towel and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Combine pears, white sugar, brown sugar, lemon zest, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Mix until thoroughly combined, about 10 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons flour and continue mixing until filling is thick and glossy.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Lightly spray a pie plate with cooking spray.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead dough about 4 times. Separate into 2 even pieces. Flatten 1 piece for the bottom crust. Place in the pie dish with excess dough hanging over the sides. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon flour over the crust. Add pear mixture to just below the rim of the pie plate.
• Roll out second piece of dough and cut into thin strips. Lay 1/2 of the strips vertically over the pie. Place remaining strips horizontally on top. Fold overhanging dough over the edges of the strips to cover them. Press to seal with your fingers. Use the back of a fork to crimp the edge.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Whisk egg and water together in a small bowl. Brush over the pie. Continue baking until top and edges are golden brown, about 45 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 15 to 20 minutes before slicing.

BOURBON-PEAR STAR PIE

Steps:

• For the dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Using your fingers or a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles a coarse meal. Add the egg mixture and stir the dough together with a fork until it is fully moistened and crumbly. Knead the dough a few times until it comes together. If the dough is dry, stir in up to 1 tablespoon cold water. Form the dough into 2 disks, about 11 ounces each, then wrap them in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• For the filling: Meanwhile, peel, halve and core the pears. Cut each half into 4 wedges, and cut the wedges in half crosswise to shorten them. Toss with the sugar, cinnamon, salt and 1/4 cup bourbon. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove the pan from the heat, add the pears, return to the heat and cook until the sugar dissolves and the pears begin to simmer, about 2 minutes. Cover the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pears are tender when pierced with a knife, 3 to 6 minutes. Strain the pears into a bowl to catch the juices. Put the juices back into the skillet and cook over medium-high heat until caramelized and syrupy, about 2 minutes. Pour the syrup over the pears and chill until cooled.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place an inverted baking sheet on the bottom rack. Line another baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Roll each disk of dough to a 12-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Fit one into a 9-inch pie pan and trim to a 1/2-inch overhang, then brush the edges with the beaten egg. Fold the edge of the dough underneath and press to seal and crimp. From the second dough circle, cut out stars with 1 1/2-inch, 2-inch and 3 1/2-inch star cutters and place them on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the cutouts with the beaten egg. Sprinkle gold sanding sugar over some, but not all, of the stars. Chill the stars and the crust in the freezer for 15 minutes.
• Stir the cornstarch and the remaining 2 tablespoons bourbon, if using, into the cooled pear filling, and pour the filling into the crust. Lay the stars on top of the filling, some of them overlapping, so that most of the pie is covered but some of the filling is peeking out. Place the pie on another baking sheet.
• Bake the pie on top of the inverted baking sheet until the crust is light golden brown, the pears are tender and the filling is bubbly, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. (If the crust gets too brown, tent it with aluminum foil.) Let the pie cool 1 hour before serving.