Bourbon Pear Pie
There is something about Bourbon Pear Pie at this time of the year…bourbon and pears are such an incredible combination, paired with brown sugar and cinnamon? I dare you to say anything bad about that!
The pie crust is easy as getting out your food processor. All the crust ingredients get tossed in the processor for a quick spin.
And how about the topping? Yes, you can make a lattice top if you prefer, but I love these tiny pastry pearls! Follow along to see how to do this…
Once the crust ingredients are pulsed together, dump out onto a floured work surface and knead together for a minute or two until it comes together. Form it into a disk about an inch thick, wrap in plastic and set in the fridge for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, make the filling by combining the cut up pears, bourbon, cornstarch, brown sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon.
Once the pie dough has chilled, divide it in two and place one of the pieces on a floured work surface. Roll it into a circle large enough to hang over a 9-inch pie pan by about 1/2-inch.
I used a spoon to create the crimped look on my pie.
Using the second piece of dough, make tiny balls of pastry by pinching off a small bit of dough and rolling it between your hands until you have a small ball. Do this quickly so that the butter doesn’t melt. Place the balls on a cookie sheet and return it to the fridge to firm up.
Pour the filling into the refrigerated pie crust. Top the filling with the pastry “pearls”. Brush the egg wash over the top of the pearls and crust and then sprinkle some coarse sugar over the top.
Bake the pie until the crust is cooked through and nicely browned, about one hour. Cool completely and then dust with powdered sugar.
You are now ready to serve this amazing pie!
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Bourbon Pear Pie
Makes: 8 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Bake Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour & 35 minutes
Ingredients
Pie Crust:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp cold unsalted butter
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Filling:
- 5 pears
- 2 tbsp bourbon
- 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- Pinch cinnamon
- 1 large egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon cream for egg wash
- Coarse sugar, for sprinkling
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
Instructions
Crust:
In a food processor, add all the ingredients to the bowl, then blend until they come together.
Remove from bowl and flatten the dough into disk (about 1-inch thick), cover with plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge for about half an hour.
Filling:
In the meantime, prepare the filling. Peel the pears and cut them into big chunks.
Put them into a bowl, add bourbon, cornstarch, brown sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Stir gently and set aside.
Preheat the oven at 350° F. Take the dough out of the fridge and divide the pastry in two pieces. Place one of the two pieces on a floured work surface and roll to a circle of approximately 13-14 inches, so that you have a 1/2-inch overhang once transferred into a 9-inch pie pan. Tuck the overhand under to form a thicker edge around the pie. Crimp as desired.
Place the crust into the fridge again, while you make the little pearls (or lattice).
For the Pearl Topping:
Take tiny pieces of dough (different sizes) and roll into individual pearls with your hands. Do it quickly to avoid melting the butter inside. Set pearls on a baking sheet. Place in fridge for 15 minutes to firm up.
Take the pie out of the fridge, fill with the pears, then decorate with dough pearls. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle some coarse sugar over the topping. Bake for 60-70 minutes until crust is cooked and nicely browned.
Let cool down completely before dusting some powdered sugar on top.
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