Pear Cranberry Lattice Pie Recipes

PEAR-CRANBERRY PIE WITH FAUX LATTICE

Steps:

• On a lightly floured work surface, roll 1 disk of dough to 1/8 inch thick. Fit into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Trim edges flush with rim. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
• On a piece of lightly floured parchment paper, roll out remaining disk of dough to 1/8 inch thick. Top with an inverted 9-inch pie plate or a cake ring, and gently press to make a light indentation (this will be your guide for cutting the lattice to fit the pie). Using a 3/4-inch square cutter, cut a lattice pattern out of the round, leaving at least 1/2 inch between cutouts and edge of round. Transfer squares to a parchment-lined baking sheet. To make partial squares where the lattice meets the rounded edge, make a very light indentation with the cutter, then cut out the portion of the square that is inside the round with a knife. Using a paring knife or a pizza cutter, cut out the round, leaving an additional 1/2 inch of dough beyond the marked circle. Reroll scraps, and cut out as many additional squares as possible. Transfer parchment with the lattice top to a baking sheet. Refrigerate lattice top and squares for 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees, with racks in middle and lower positions. Peel, halve, and core pears. Very thinly slice 3 pears lengthwise, and cut remaining 2 pears into 8 wedges each.
• Toss together pears, cranberries, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a large bowl. Using the tip of a paring knife, scrape vanilla seeds over pear mixture, and toss until seeds have been evenly incorporated. Pour filling into piecrust, gently pressing to make it as level as possible. Dot filling with butter.
• To make egg wash, whisk together egg yolk and cream in a small bowl. Lightly brush edge of piecrust with egg wash. Remove lattice crust and squares from refrigerator. Gently place another baking sheet on top of lattice, and carefully invert. Slide lattice on top of filling, and remove parchment. Gently press edges of crust to seal, trimming edges of lattice if necessary.
• Lightly brush lattice with egg wash. Arrange dough squares around edge of pie, overlapping them slightly. Lightly brush top of each square with egg wash as you work to help them adhere.
• Place a foil-lined baking sheet on lower oven rack to catch any juices. Place pie on middle rack, and bake until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling gently, 90 to 100 minutes. Tent with foil if crust browns too quickly. Let pie cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat preserves in a saucepan over medium heat until warm. Puree in a food processor until smooth. Press through a fine sieve into a bowl or another saucepan, and reheat if necessary. Brush warm pie with a generous amount of warm apricot glaze. Let cool completely on rack.

PEAR-CRANBERRY MINCEMEAT LATTICE PIE

Steps:

• Make mincemeat:
• Stir together all ingredients except pastry dough and chill in an airtight container, stirring at least once a day for at least 3 days.
• Make pie:
• Put oven rack in middle position. Put a large baking sheet on rack and preheat oven to 425°F.
• Roll out larger piece of dough (keep remaining piece chilled) on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch round, then fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Chill shell while rolling out smaller piece of dough for top crust.
• Roll out smaller piece of dough on a lightly floured surface with lightly floured rolling pin into a roughly 16- by 11-inch rectangle. Cut crosswise into 12 (1-inch-wide) strips with a pastry wheel or a sharp knife. Stir mincemeat, then spoon into shell in an even layer. Weave a lattice pattern over pie with pastry strips.
• Trim edges of strips flush with edge of bottom crust. Fold bottom crust up over edges of lattice and decoratively crimp.
• Bake pie on hot baking sheet 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F and cover edge of pie with a pie shield or foil if it begins to brown too quickly. Continue to bake until crust is golden brown and filling begins to bubble around edge, about 1 hour more. Transfer pie to a rack and cool to warm or room temperature, about 2 hours. Serve pie warm or at room temperature.

PEAR-CRANBERRY PIE WITH FAUX LATTICE

Steps:

• On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 disk of dough to a 13-inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Fit into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate; trim dough flush with rim. Refrigerate or freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.
• On lightly floured parchment, roll out remaining disk of dough as in step 1. Top with an inverted 9-inch pie plate, and gently press to make a light indentation. Using a 1-inch square cutter, cut lattice pattern out of round, leaving at least 1/2 inch between cutouts and edge of indented round. Transfer squares to a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. For partial squares where lattice meets edge, make a very light indentation with cutter, then cut out portion inside round with a paring knife.
• Using a paring knife, cut out the round, leaving an additional 1/2 inch dough beyond indented circle. Reroll scraps; cut out as many additional squares as possible, and transfer to baking sheet. Transfer parchment with cutout top to another baking sheet. Refrigerate both 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375°F, with rack in lower position. Peel and core pears. Very thinly slice 2 pears lengthwise; cut remaining 2 pears into 8 wedges each.
• In a bowl, toss together pears, cranberries, brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Pour into pie shell; gently press to make level. Dot with butter. Whisk together egg yolk and cream; lightly brush over edge of pie shell. Gently place another baking sheet on top of chilled lattice (still on parchment); carefully invert. Slide lattice on top of filling, centering; remove parchment. Gently press edges of crust to seal; trim dough, if necessary.
• Lightly brush lattice with egg wash. Arrange dough squares around edge of pie, overlapping slightly. Lightly brush top of each square with egg wash as you work. Refrigerate 15 minutes. Bake pie on a parchment-lined baking sheet until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling, about 90 minutes. (Tent with foil if crust browns too quickly.) Let cool on a wire rack 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat preserves in a saucepan over medium until loose. Pass through a fine sieve into a bowl. Brush warm pie all over with glaze. Let pie cool completely on wire rack.

BERRY BEST PEAR PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425°F. In medium bowl, mix 2 cups flour and the salt. Cut in shortening, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost cleans side of bowl (1 to 2 teaspoons more water can be added if necessary).
• Gather pastry into a ball; divide pastry in half. On lightly floured surface, shape each half into flattened round. Roll one round of pastry, using floured rolling pin, into circle 2 inches larger than upside-down 9-inch glass pie plate. Fold pastry into fourths; place in pie plate. Unfold and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side. Trim overhanging edge 1 inch from rim of plate.
• In small bowl, mix sugar, 1/3 cup flour and the cinnamon. Place pears in pastry-lined pie plate. Sprinkle sugar mixture over pears. Top with cranberries. Cut butter into small pieces; sprinkle over filling.
• Roll other round of pastry; cut into strips about 1/2 inch wide. To make lattice top, place about 7 strips across filling in pie plate. Weave a cross-strip through center by first folding back every other strip of the first 7 strips. Continue weaving, folding back alternate strips before adding each cross-strip, until lattice is complete. (To save time, place second half of strips crosswise across first strips instead of weaving.) Trim ends of strips. Fold trimmed edge of bottom pastry over ends of strips. Press edge with fork.
• In small bowl, mix egg white and 1 teaspoon water; brush on lattice pastry top. Cover edge of pastry with 2- to 3-inch strip of foil to prevent excessive browning; remove foil during last 15 minutes of baking. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through lattice crust.