Pear Cranberry Crumble Pie
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This pear cranberry pie with an oatmeal streusel topping might just take center stage at your Thanksgiving table. Sorry apple pie, but I think I found a new favorite pie to serve. This is also a sneak peak to my cookbook that is coming out!!!
I can finally say it. I have a cookbook coming out!! Oh my gosh. Pinch me. Seriously. What?! A cookbook. YUP.
So I had to share with you a sneak peak recipe from the cookbook. And this pear cranberry pie was one of my absolute (and I’ll say unexpected favorites) from the book. Since Thanksgiving is days away, I thought why not share a recipe with you all that I think your family will devour.
Yes usually my go to pie recipes for Thanksgiving are an Pecan Pie Without Corn Syrup, Old Fashioned Apple Pie, and a Pumpkin Pie (No Evaporated Milk), but I decided to switch things up and use in season pears and combine them with tart, fresh cranberries (although you can use frozen) and the pairing was magical!
If you love cranberries, youโve got to try my Cranberry Cheesecake Bars! With a graham cracker crust, creamy cheesecake filling, cranberry swirl, and crumble topping, these bars make the perfect addition to your holiday dessert table!
Get My Thanksgiving Treats Book!
Get all my favorite pie recipes and desserts to serve this Thanksgiving in this digital e-book, Thanksgiving Pies and Treats book! From classics like apple, pumpkin and pecan to out of the box favorites like cherry crumb and Chocolate Irish cream pie. Plus get my go to Thanksgiving desserts and breads! Like my apple crumb cake, my favorite cinnamon rolls, pumpkin bundt cake and more.
My recipe book also includes everything you need to know when making traditional or classic pies for any occasion for beginners, like the right way to blind bake a pie crust. Become a pie making pro in no time!
But before we get onto the recipe let’s talk more about the book.
What’s The Title Of Your Cookbook?
The title of the book is Beginner’s Baking Bible. It has over 130 recipes to get anyone started baking in the kitchen. Plus tips, tricks, and techniques to have you successfully whip up any treat for your friends and family.
What’s The Beginner’s Baking Bible Cookbook About?
Well as you could probably imagine, it’s all about beginner baking. Baking intimidates a lot of folks, but this book is aimed at helping out those folks that want to start to dip their toes into the dessert world. It’s chock full of tips, tricks, and techniques, (and a TON of recipes! Over 130!) so you can begin to master baking in your own kitchen.
Can I Buy The Book Right Now?
The cookbook will be officially available on December 24. But it’s available for pre-order right now!
Pear Cranberry Pie Ingredients
Ok now let’s make some pie! I have to admit I don’t usually bake with pears. Ok I’ve made these Pear Turnovers and these Pear Muffins , but usually I go with apple. Well let me tell you, this pie was one of my absolute (and unexpected) favorites from the book. Here is what you need to round up or get from the store:
Oatmeal Streusel:
- Oats – I used old fashioned oats for a heartier streusel.
- Butter – Melted butter helps this streusel come together quickly. Again be sure to unsalted.
- Flour – All purpose flour combines with the oats to make an easy streusel.
- Cinnamon and salt – A little spice and a little salt to balance it all out.
- Sugars – I used a combination of brown sugar and granulated sugar.
Pie Crust:
- Unsalted butter – Be sure to use unsalted butter so your pie crust doesn’t end up too salty. And make sure it’s COLD, COLD, COLD. Cold butter = flaky pie crust.
- Flour – All purpose flour is all you need to make a perfectly flaky crust.
- Salt – Of course a little salt to balance the sweetness.
- Sugar – I added a little sugar to help tenderize the pie crust.
- Water – Ice COLD water is necessary to turn these ingredients to pie crust. Add a tablespoon of water to the dough until it comes together (about 3-4 tablespoons)
Filling:
- Pears – I used Bosc pears for this pie, but Anjou or Bartlett pears would also work. And you want to make sure to chunk these up as opposed to slicing them. Slicing the pears will result in pear “mush”. No good. You need about 5 cups (which is about 5 pears).
- Cranberries – You can use fresh or frozen cranberries.
- Flour – This will help to thicken the filling as it cooks.
- Sugar – Of course this helps to sweeten the filling.
- Cinnamon – I love adding more cinnamon to this pie and help bring out those Fall spices.
- Lemon Juice– This will help keep the pears from browning.
What Kind Of Pears Should I Use For This Pie?
I used green Anjou pears for this pie, but you could Bosc or Bartletts varieties in this pie.
I used about 5-6 pears for this pie, but itโs best to pick up a few extra just in case any pears develop some soft spots. You want to look for pears that are slightly firm to avoid a mushy filling.
Check for ripeness by pressing your thumb towards the stem. It should give a little, but still remain slightly firm. If you need to ripen the pears quickly place them in a brown paper bag 1-2 days before you plan on using them. They will be ready and ripe when you go to use them!
How To Make This Cranberry Pie
Step One: Make your pie crust
You want to start by making your single pie crust. I made this in a food processor, but you can also make this in a mixing bowl with a pastry cutter. Here is the step by step photos of how to make pie crust.
- In a food processor combine the flour sugar, and salt and pulse to combine.
- Scatter the butter over the top. You want to make sure itโs cubed and COLD.
- Pulse until the butter is pea-sized.
- Sprinkle in the water with the food processor running and stop until the mixture comes together and is crumbly. You want to then dump the contents onto plastic wrap and wrap up into a disc and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
For more help on making pie dough, check out 9 Tips To Make The Best Pie and 4 Tips To Make The Flakiest Pie Crust.
Roll out the pie crust
- Roll out pie crust and place in pie pan. Using a lightly floured surface and rolling pin, roll out the pie crust to a 12โณ circle. Fold the pie crust in quarters or roll it over your rolling pin. Unfold (or unroll) the pie crust into your pie plate tuck into the bottom.
- Fold the edge under.
- Crimp the edges. Fold the edge under and flute the edges by pressing the crust between your index finger and thumb and index finger of your other hand.
- Chill the pie crust for 30 minutes.
Step Two: Make The Filling
While the pie crust is chilling go ahead and make your pear cranberry filling.
Pro Tip: Dice the pears into chunks, not slices which can result in mushy pie filling.
Step Three: Assemble The Pie
Once the filling is made, go ahead and roll out your pie crust and place the filling inside. And then chill the pie while you assemble the streusel.
Step Four: Make The Streusel And Top The Pie
Go ahead and mix up the streusel. And then carefully place the streusel on top of the pear filling.
Make Ahead/Storage Instructions
Filling Only: You can make the filling ONE day ahead of time. Be sure to keep it covered in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Crumble topping: Keep covered in the fridge up to 2 days. May need to let it break it up with your hands when ready to use.
Pie crust: Yes and I absolutely recommend you do. Making a pie start to finish can be daunting, but not if you break up the steps. So you can make the pie crust up to 5 days ahead of time. Just wrap tightly in plastic wrap and then refrigerate.
Whole Pie: You can make this pie one WHOLE day ahead of time. Just allow the pie to cool and then cover the pie and refrigerate it. You can then bring it back to room temperature before serving.
Yes you can! Pies can be frozen for up to 3 months.
To freeze a baked pie:ย You can freeze a baked pie for up to 3 months. Let the pie cool completely. Then be sure to tightly wrap the pie in a couple layers of plastic wrap or aluminum foil. And then when ready to enjoy, thaw overnight in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving.ย
To freeze an unbaked pie:ย You can also freeze the unbaked pie with the crumble topping. You want to freeze for a couple hours to set the filling, then tightly wrap the entire pie in about 2-3 layers of plastic wrap or aluminum foil. And then freeze for up to 1 month. When ready to bake, remove the pie from the freezer, unwrap, and bake. Add on additional 20 minutes (or longer) to the bake time.
Leftovers can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days, covered, or in the fridge for a week.
More Recipes To Try:
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Cranberry Pear Crumble Pie
Ingredients
For the crust:
For the pear cranberry filling:
- 5 cups (815 g pears) peeled and diced into ยฝโ chunks about 5 pears
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- โ cup (40 g) all purpose flour
- ยฝ cup (99 g) granulated white sugar
- 1 ยฝ teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 ยพ cups (170 g) cranberries, fresh or frozen
For the oatmeal streusel topping:
- 1 cup (120 g) all purpose flour
- ยพ cup (160 g) light brown sugar
- โ cup (66 g) granulated sugar
- ยฝ teaspoon cinnamon
- ยผ teaspoon table salt
- ยฝ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted
- ยฝ cup (50 g) old-fashioned oats
Instructions
Make the crust.
- Roll out the pie dough. On a floured work surface, roll out the disc of pie dough. Turn the dough a quarter turn after every few rolls until you have a circle 12 inches in diameter. Carefully place the dough into a 9โ pie dish. Tuck it in with your fingers, making sure it is smooth. Trim the excess, leaving about a 1 inch overhang. Fold the excess pie dough underneath, crimping the edges. Refrigerate while you make the filling.
Make the filling.
- In a large bowl using a spatula, stir the pears, lemon juice, flour, sugar, cinnamon, and cranberries until combined and the fruit is coated in flour. Set the filling aside as the oven preheats.
- Spoon the pear filling into the crust, leaving some of the liquid in the bowl. Refrigerate the pie as you make the oatmeal streusel topping.
- Preheat the oven to 400oF and position a rack in the lower third of your oven.
Make the streusel topping.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cut the cold butter into the mixture. Stir in the oats. The streusel topping will be thick and crumbly. Sprinkle over the pear filling.
- Bake the pie. Place the pie onto a large baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Keeping the pie in the oven, turn the temperature down to 375ยฐF and bake for an additional 30-35 minutes.
- Cool the pie. Remove the pie from the oven and transfer the pie dish to a wire cooling rack. Allow the pie to cool for 3 full hours at room temperature before serving. This time allows the filling to thicken up. Serve with vanilla ice cream if desired. Cover pie leftovers tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
This pie just screams fall! I have got to give this a go, bookmarked to make this weekend! Thank you so much for the recipe ๐
I cannot wait to hear what you think, Cathleen! Hope you enjoy the pie and have a great weekend!
This pie looks fantastic! I absolutely love the combination of pear and cranberry. Sounds perfect paired with the streusel topping.
It really is the BEST balance of sweet and tart ๐ I hope you enjoy, Tara!
Turned out perfectly! We used Bosc pears which are my favorite! Loved the pie!
Great idea using Bosc! Thanks for your sweet comment, Ashley! So happy you enjoyed ๐
Wow this pie looks so delicious and perfect for the holiday season! Yum.
It really brightens up a table of hearty savory goodness! I hope you love the pie, Cate!
I’ve never had pear and cranberry combo flavors before, can’t wait to try this recipe. I am sure it tastes delicious.
The tart and sweet balance is one of my faves – and I hope you love it as much as I do, Rika!
This was soo delicious! I tried making a pie crust for the first time, and these instructions were really clear for me! Do you have tips on the pie crust cracking and falling apart as I roll them out?
The filling is super simple and yummy to make, but one mistake I made is that my pears were too ripe so they were a bit mushy after baking.
Hi Shanice! I’m so glad you loved the pie!! Especially glad you found the tips on how to make a pie crust easy for you. If it’s cracking as you roll it out, it probably means it’s too dry. The amount of water will always vary depending on the weather and humidity. The more you make them the more you will get the feel for it. But if it’s cracking I would just sprinkle or spritz some water on (not a lot!) as you roll it out. That should help. Yes sometimes my pie filling is always a little over or underdone too! Nothing ice-cream can’t fix ๐