Until today, my pies have mainly either been apple or some combination of berries. Today was a day for experiments, though.
I’ve had a Best of Country Pies recipe book for a few years. It’s a treasure trove of recipes, most of which I haven’t gotten around to. I’ve looked warily at the cheddar pear pie recipe before, uncertain about a pear pie, but we had a few pears just tipping that border between ripe and over-ripe, and this recipe called for the exact number we had on hand. Pears and cheese sounded like a great combination anyway, so I had to try it.
Here is everything nearly ready to go – the pears were peeled and ready for pie prep. This was also my first time using a Pampered Chef clay pie plate graciously given to me by a friend. Because it was the first time it would be used, I used a basting brush to coat the inside with butter.
There was something about the pears once they were peeled that made me comment to my husband, “There’s something beautiful about a ripe pear that’s just been peeled.” Honestly, they looked beautiful!
Recipe:
4 large pears, peeled and thinly sliced
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 unbaked pastry shell (9 inches)
Pie crust for a single crust pie: 1 1/4 cups a/p flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/3 cup shortening or butter, and cold water. Combine the flour and salt (I actually used just a bit more than a pinch rather than a full 1/2 teaspoon), and cut in the butter or shortening until crumbly. Add cold water a tablespoon at a time until the dough just comes together in a ball. Refrigerate the crust while preparing the pie filling – it helps the crust work better. I also like using a half butter and half shortening when I can – this crust was prepared with only butter, though. A tip: butter gives the crust great flavor, while shortening gives it a flaky texture.
Topping:
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
Combine the pears, sugar, cornstarch and salt, then pour into a pastry shell. Combine the topping ingredients until crumbly and sprinkle over the filling.
Bake at 425F for 25-35 minutes, or until crust is golden and cheese is melted. Cool for 15-20 minutes. Serve warm, and store in the refrigerator.
The result, right out of the oven:
A note on presentation: yes, the crust really should be up over the lip of the pie plate, but the filling wasn’t quite enough to reach that level, so I rolled the edge to meet it. Next time, I might add one more pear to fill the pie plate.
Also, a note on the recipe – I didn’t use the full amount of salt the recipe called for. For the pears, I used a pinch of salt; for the topping, I used a little more than a pinch of salt.
The flavor was wonderful! The cheese in the topping wasn’t overwhelming to the pears, instead complementing them well. Because of how ripe the pears were, it was very juicy – I may have needed more cornstarch for the filling. Regardless, it was a great kick-off to fall and pie-baking season!
YUM!
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