Fresh Pear And Cranberry Pie

Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins Preparation Time: 35 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 10 mins

Ingredients

• 1 pastry for single-crust pie
• 8 cups sliced red pears (7 to 8 pears, 3 to 3-1/2 lb. total) or 8 cups green ripe pears (7 to 8 pears, 3 to 3-1/2 lb. total)
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons apple cider or 2 tablespoons water
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons caramel ice cream topping, plus additional for drizzling

Recipe

• 1 prepare and roll out pastry for single-crust pie (below). preheat oven to 375°f.
• 2 arrange half of pears in prepared pastry; sprinkle with 1/2 cup of cranberries. arrange remaining pears atop cranberries. in bowl stir together 1/4 cup sugar, cornstarch, cider, and nutmeg; drizzle evenly over pears. cover pie with foil.
• 3 bake 40 minutes. remove foil; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. bake, uncovered, 30 to 35 minutes more or until pears are tender and juices are bubbly. remove from oven and place on wire rack.
• 4 meanwhile, in small saucepan combine remaining cranberries and 2 tablespoons caramel topping. bring to boiling. cook 1 minute. remove from heat. spoon over hot pie.
• 5 serve warm. drizzle with additional caramel topping. make 8 servings.
• 6 pastry for a single-crust pie: in bowl stir together 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt. using a pastry blender cut in 1/2 cup shortening until pieces are pea-size. sprinkle 1 tablespoon cold water over part of the flour mixture; gently toss with a fork. push moistened dough to side of the bowl. repeat, using 1 tablespoon water at a time (4 to 5 tablespoons total), until flour mixture is moistened. form dough into ball. on floured surface flatten with hands. roll dough from center to edges into a 13-inch circle. to transfer pastry, wrap around rolling pin. unroll pastry into a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan. ease pastry into plate without stretching it. trim pastry to 1 inch beyond edge of pie plate. fold under extra pastry.