Fresh Pear and Cranberry Pie

• I did not manage to take any pictures of the food I made this week so I'm gonna have to add another dessert. Bummer right? I made this for a Christmas party and it was very tasty. I think it looked slightly better than it tasted but I still feel I will make it again. I was not crazy about the caramel topping so I will probably make up my own topping in the future. In truth, I think you could skip the caramel topping especially if you are serving it with ice cream or whipped cream.

• Ingredients

• 1 recipe Single-Crust Pie**
• 8 cups sliced red and/or green ripe pears (7 to 8 pears; 3 to 3-1/2 lb. total)
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp. apple cider or water
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. caramel-flavored ice cream topping, plus additional for drizzling

• Directions

1. Prepare and roll out Pastry for Single-Crust Pie (below). Preheat oven to 375F.

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.

** 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.

Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens