Fresh Ginger Pear Pie
We’d be lying if we said that dessert wasn’t the single item we were looking forward to the most on Thanksgiving. As much as we love our Thanksgiving turkey and savory side dishes, there’s nothing that beats the taste of fresh homemade pies for the holiday. This year, we wanted to try a new pie recipe for the big day, so we’ve brought our resident baker Amanda Wilens on the blog today to share a new turkey day recipe: Fresh Ginger Pear Pie. This unbelievable pie is not only absolutely stunning, but also a delicious flavor profile that will leave you wanting seconds {and thirds}. Take it away Amanda…
I love a beautiful pie to center my buffet or table around. Personally, I save extra room for dessert on Thanksgiving. From pies to cheesecake, having desserts that impress is a must for the holidays. This Fresh Pear and Ginger Pie impresses in both looks and taste.
Fresh Ginger Pear Pie
I decided for a diagonal lattice top with a braided edge with stamped flowers and leaves for decorations. I love to top off a pie with a little powdered sugar to finish the look. To make this pie extra special, I also topped it with flowers too.
Notes
- *For your pears, you want something firm and not too ripe that bakes well. I suggest Bosc, Anjou, or Bartlett pears.
- I do not add cornstarch, flour, or any thickener to my pies as I don’t personally love the texture. This means the filling isn’t as thick as a store-bought pie. You can of course add a few tablespoons to make it thicker. Add when you toss the sugar and spices.
- Don’t overwork your dough. It’s okay to make mistakes and start again with the flours and leaves as the texture isn’t as important on those, but try not to over-knead.
- I used a milk wash instead of an egg wash for a lighter color, but you can use an egg wash for a deeper golden color on your bake.
- Special tools I used for this:
- 5-wheel stainless steel pastry cutter
- Fondant/Pie flower and leave cutters
- Bench scraper
- Stand mixer for making pie dough
- Foil tent or pie crust shield
- Ruffle Pie Dish from Crate and Barrel
- Pastry brush
Ingredients
- 2 pie dough shells, store-bought or homemade
- 6 large pears*, peeled, cored, and sliced
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced or crushed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup milk, for milk wash
- 2 Tbsp powdered sugar, optional
- Flowers for decorating, optional
Instructions
- Place peeled and sliced pears into a large bowl and cover with lemon juice. Add in fresh ginger, sugar, and spices. Toss until evenly coated.
- Roll dough onto a floured surface. Create two even separate dough pieces (I use a bench scraper), if not already separated.
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- Roll out one of the disks with a rolling pin. Roll into a circular shape about 1/8” thick, roll dough over your rolling pin, and move it into your pie pan. Settle the dough by gently pushing dough into the pan corners. In this version my pie dough just goes up to the edge of the pie pan. My pies are usually a little messy, so don’t worry how it looks at this part as long as the thickness of the dough is even. Place dough in a cool spot or cover and place in the refrigerator.
- Take your second half of your pie dough and roll it in a rectangular or circle shape and get it to the same thickness as before, 1/8 inch. Then, using a pizza cutter or multi wheel pastry cutter, cut the lattice strips. I also did some braiding for the edges, which was just 3 strips all braided together and pinched on the edges. Then cut out leaves and flowers with remaining dough.
- Fill your prepared pie pan with your pear mixture. Smooth out and make sure the top is as even as possible. Place in a cool spot.
- Make your lattice top by weaving the strips across the top of the pie. Cut and or fold the edges into the edge of the pie. This might be more work to make it very nice and even, but the best part about this dough is that it’s malleable and you can make it work for you. Also, you will cover with a braided piece so mistakes are okay. Take your braided pieces and cover the outside edge. Mine took about 2 ¼ braided pieces to cover. I used the flowers and leaves to cover up where they met.
- With a small bowl of milk and a pastry brush, brush the outside of the pie dough. You can also dust with coarse sugar here.
- To keep the pie dough from getting too dark, I used a foil tent (or you can use a pie shield.
- Place in the oven for 30 minutes with the tent/shield. Remove and bake for another 30-35 minutes.
- Allow to cool and serve with whipped cream or ice cream. Enjoy!
Will you try Amanda’s Fresh Ginger Pear Pie for Thanksgiving?
XO Team LC
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Photos: Amanda Wilens
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