Apple and Pear pie

What happens when you find yourself with 5 apples and 2 pears peeled and sliced, the cornstarch, sugar, and nutmeg all measured and mixed and you can’t find the cinnamon?  ( I know you are supposed to check for all supplies before starting, but I’m just not good at that, period.)  Once I pulled my head out of my spice/baking cupboard and stopped sneezing, I asked myself ….How can I make an apple pie without cinnamon?  And when did I run out of cinnamon?  Oh yeah…I made 50 pie crust cinnamon rolls yesterday using my last of the spice.  Beagles!  Crap or well I think I said another four letter expletive, but ah well.  After I gathered myself and figured I’d still eat it even if it was lacking something (I like pie that much) I found a container of ground ginger and figured why not ? So in went some ginger.  I am happy to say I am not missing the cinnamon! 

If you read my previous blog post (Pie Crust Take 2), I mentioned that I would probably not use the crust containing lard for sweet pies, but when you find yourself with 3 rounds of the dough in the fridge from a previous experiment, a supply of apples and pears,  and you were raised not to waste food, you use the dough and deal.  I mean its still going to be good and trust me it is wonderful.  The sweetness of the pie filling in combination with the almost salty ( I can’t find a word to describe its flavor yet) pie crust…its a nice contrast.  This is not to say that I won’t or don’t like sugar in my crusts, this was just a nice surprise. 

I did not make one large pie because its just me and I shouldn’t eat a whole pie.  I made 4 small individual pies and plan on freezing them until I have a hankering for pie.  I had a little bit of filling leftover that wouldn’t fit into the pie plates, so I just threw them into a pyrex bowl and baked along with the pies until the apples were soft and juices were bubbly and clear.  I am saving those for a midnight snack. 

Pie Crust *was able to make 4, 5 inch pies with double crust with a little left over – be ready to make some pies with this recipe!

• 4 Cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 + 2/3 Cup lard
• 1/2 Cup cold water
• 1 egg beaten
• 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

1. In large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. 
2.  Cut in lard with a pastry cutter, 2 knives, or food processor (pulse 10-12 times, processor is not ideal for this recipe as there is a lot of dough being made) until the lard is course and pea sized throughout. 
3. In another smaller bowl mix together water, egg, and vinegar. 
4. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the lard/flour mixture and either blend with a fork or use a spatula and fold in the wet ingredients until the dough can be formed into a ball. 
5. Divide dough into 2 to 4 disks and wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling.  Can be stored in fridge for up to 2 days or so. 

Filling

• 3 Granny Smith apples: peeled, cored, sliced
• 2 Fuji apples: peeled, cored, sliced
• 2 Red Bartlet pears : peeled, cored, sliced
• zest of 1 lemon
• 4 Tablespoon cornstarch
• 3/4 Cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 Cup white granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 0 cinnamon
• 1 egg white
• ≈ 1 Tablespoon butter

1. Peel, core, and evenly slice the apples and pears and set aside. 
2.  Mix together cornstarch, sugars, ginger, and nutmeg.  Do not add to apples until ready to assemble pies – will pull the moisture from the apples prematurely and will cause crust to be soggy. 

Assembly

1. Preheat oven to 400°F
2. Butter the bottom and sides of pie plate(s).
3. Remove dough from fridge and roll out dough (if using a 9 inch plate then the crust should measure about 12-13 inches, wider if using a deep dish pie plate).  I like to roll it out on a floured surface, but wax paper is great if you are worried about sticking.  Dough should be about an 1/8 of an inch thick.  Roll a bottom crust and lid. 
4. Fit crust into the pie plate.  Do not stretch the dough because it will shrink!
5. Mix egg white with 1 teaspoon of water to make an egg white wash and brush the dough with wash (sides and bottom).  Prevents soggy crust
6. Combine the apples and pears with the sugar mixture and add the lemon zest.  Toss with a spoon to combine. 
7. Dump the apple filling into the pie plate and scatter bits of butter over filling.
8. Cover with top crust and pinch the edges together.  I like the fluted edge if possible, but a fork works great too! (the pies I made today, the edges look…rustic)
9. Poke several holes in top crust – steam outlet. 
10. Place on rack in middle of oven and bake for 40 to 50 minutes until juices are bubbly and clear.  If you slide a knife into the pie there should be no resistance.  If the crust starts to brown more than you like, place a piece of tinfoil over pie – tenting. 
11. Remove from oven (turn oven off…I always forget) and place on wire rack to cool. 
12. Cut once pie has cooled – allows the pie juices to come together and prevents a runny pie. 
13. Can reheat slices in oven (or microwave ) and enjoy with a scoop of vanilla icecream or maybe cinnamon ice cream, or butter pecan, or…ok I have a thing for ice cream too!

I have no pics of pie assembly…completely forgot to do so!  Oops!

This pie is pretty flipping good if I may say so.  I love when I think something is going to be a flop turns out to be lovely.  Ginger was a nice touch adding a nice spiceness that complimented the pears and apples quite well.  These pies never made it the freezer … I pawned them off onto the gals at work.