Pear-Cranberry Pie

A mixture of pears and bright red cranberries make a colorful filling for this winter pie, a perfect choice for holiday celebrations. Making a lattice crust with strips of different widths gives it a fun casual look.

 

Pear-Cranberry Pie

 

2 rolled-out rounds deep-dish piecrust

2 1/2 lb. (1.25 kg) pears, peeled, cored and cut into 8 slices each

1/2 cup (3 1/2 oz./105 g) firmly packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup (2 oz./60 g) granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. grated orange zest

1/4 cup (1 oz./30 g) cornstarch

2 Tbs. kirsch

1 1/2 cups (6 oz./180 g) fresh or frozen cranberries

1 egg beaten with 1 tsp. water

2 tsp. turbinado sugar

 

Fit 1 dough round into a 9-inch (23-cm) deep-dish pie dish and gently press into the dish. Trim the edges flush with the rim. Refrigerate until ready to use.

 

Using a ruler as a guide, cut 10 strips of dough of varying widths, from about 3/8 inch (1 cm) to about 1 1/4 inches (3 cm) wide, from the remaining dough round. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate until ready to use.

 

Preheat an oven to 400°F (200°C).

 

To prepare the filling, in a large Dutch oven over medium heat, stir together the pears, the brown and granulated sugars, the cinnamon, salt, lemon juice, orange zest and cornstarch. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pears are just tender but not mushy, 15 to 20 minutes, depending on their ripeness. Uncover, stir in the kirsch and let cool to room temperature.

 

Stir the cranberries into the pear mixture and pour the filling into the prepared pie dish.

 

To create the lattice, lay 5 strips of dough spaced evenly apart on top of the pie filling. Fold back every other strip halfway and lay down a strip perpendicular across the unfolded strips. Repeat to place 5 strips of dough evenly across the top, folding back the alternate strips each time. Pinch the lattice strips onto the dough on the rim of the pie dish to make sure they bake together. Brush the lattice crust with the egg wash and sprinkle with the turbinado sugar.

 

Place the pie dish on a baking sheet and bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling has begun to bubble, 45 minutes to 1 hour; check the pie after 30 minutes and cover the top and edges with foil if they become too dark. Let the pie cool on a wire rack for at least 2 1/2 hours before serving. Serves 8.

 

Williams-Sonoma Test Kitchen