Sweet 16th! CranPeary Pie

Hello and happy sweet 16th!  It is a winter wonderland outside here but I am nice and cozy inside and I have pie, so me:1 snow:0

I thought of this pie over the holiday break after hearing about the "cherpumple".  I started thinking of other possible pie combos because as horrible as it seems, I honestly am not a huge fan of cherry, pumpkin or apple pies.  I will eat them as opposed to having no pie, but they are not my favorites.    As a substitute for apple pie, I am really fond of pear pie so I started thinking of things to add to it.  I settled on cranberries (although raspberries were a close second and will be tried at some point in the future).

And thus the CranPeary Pie was born.    Lets begin shall we?

Start with a good pie crust.  Any recipe you prefer will do, but here's mine:

1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 1/2 c. pastry flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 stick butter
1/2 c. vegetable shortening
2 tsp. white vinegar
6-10 Tbsp. ice water

Mix the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.  Cut in the butter and shortening, leaving some small lumps.

Mix the vinegar into 6 Tablespoons of the water and sprinkle over the dry mixture.  Toss with a fork.  Squeeze the dough together, if it is not cohesive add some more water, a little at a time, until it sticks together.  Form the dough into a flattened ball and wrap in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for about 30 minutes. 

While the dough is in the fridge, make the filling:

5 pears, thinly sliced  (I used Bartlet, but you could sub any for different flavors)
3/4 - 1 c. frozen or fresh cranberries
1 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. flour
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground clove

Mix the pears and cranberries with the sugar in a large bowl.  Add the lemon juice and stir.  Mix in the flour (or another thickener) and the spices and let it sit for a little while so the fruit can soak up all the flavors.

Roll out half of the dough for the bottom crust of the pie on a pastry cloth and place it in the pie pan.  Spoon in the fruit mix.

 

Roll out the other half of the dough and cover the pie.  Turn under the edges and make it frilled if you want to.  Do make sure to cut some slits or small holes in the top crust so steam can escape. 

Brush the top crust with milk or egg white to make it brown nicely.  Place the pie on a baking sheet to catch spills and put it in a pre-heated oven at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.  Lower the temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking the pie for 40-50 minutes or until the fruit starts bubbling.   Leave to cool on the pan for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack.   Don't cut into the pie too quickly or it will just run all over the place.  Despite waiting my filling was a tiny bit runny (I might try a different thickener next time) but the little man couldn't wait any longer to eat it.

Toddler approved:

Happy baking!