Raspberry Pear Pie

I came across this recipe for raspberry pear pie years ago when planning for holiday baking. We had a large raspberry patch at my parents’ house. Every summer, we would freeze gallons of berries (after first making around 100 pints of jam). We also had an aunt who send us a large box of pears for Christmas. I took a chance on this recipe in an effort to use up some pears. It turned out to be a chance worth taking. To this day, raspberry pear is my favorite pie.

I was browsing through one of my dad’s cookbooks today and found this recipe that I had printed out for him. It made me smile that he kept it, stuck in the section on eggs. Piggly Wiggly had some perfectly ripe pears, so it seemed a bit too much like fate to not make raspberry pear pie this weekend.

Raspberry Pear Pie

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Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• Crust for double pastry
• 3 firm ripe pears, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch slices
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Instructions

1. Prepare crust according to favorite recipe, or use store-bought frozen crust.
2. Heat oven to 400°F. Place bottom crust in 9-inch pie plate.
3. Mix pears, lemon juice, and almond extract. Stir in sugar and flour.
4. Spread 1/2 of the mixture into crust lined pie plate. Add raspberries. Top with remaining pear mixture.
5. Top with lattice top crust or crust cutouts.
6. Cover edges with strips of foil. Bake 40-50 minutes until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool completely, about 3 hours.

A lattice top works well for this pie as it is fairly moist. The lattice top allows for excess moisture to evaporate, resulting in a nicely set pie. Feel intimidated by a lattice top? Check out this tutorial by Sally’s Baking Addiction. This pie is also perfect for cutouts. Grab some cookie cutters and cut shapes from your rolled out crust. Layer the cutouts on top of the filling, leaving gaps for venting.