OMG this Pie was amazing! I probably ate WAY too much of it.
DISCLAIMER: You are making your own caramel. Which takes FOREVER so this isn't something that you can do quickly.
You will Need...
**Dough for 1 (9 in) DOUBLE crust pie
3 Tbs all purpose flour
1 Tbs ground almonds
3 lb Barlett pears (6) (I just used some pears that I found at the market), Peeled and quartered
1 Tbs pear or apple cognac (I'm poor I can't afford this)
2 Tbs Unsalted butter
1/2 cup Sugar.
Steps!
1. Heat oven to 400* F. Line 9-in pie pan with 1 circle of dough. Sprinkle 1 Tbs of the flour and ground almonds over bottom of crust; refrigerate while preparing filling.
2. Toss pears with cognac in large bowl (or you know don't).
3. Melt butter in large skillet over Med. heat.
4. Add Sugar. cook and stir 7-8 min. or until golden brown.
**At first, caramel will appear crystallized, followed by a separating of the butter and sugar. It will smooth out as it begins to brown).
5. Whisk in remaining 2 Tbs flour until combined.
6. Add pears. Reduce heat to low.
** Some caramel will harden and that's ok
7. Cook and stir 3-5 min. or until caramel melts and coats pears.
8. place pears in pie crust. Pour remaining caramel over pears.
9. Cut remaining circle of dough into 10 (3/4 in wide strips. Weave strips into lattice over pie filling. letting strips overhang pie pan. Trim strips into 1/2 in. overhang. fold under edge of bottom crust. Press down gently to seal. flute or crimp edge. (First of all do whatever the hell you want with the top of your pie. don't measure your strips that's stupid we aren't Pro's over here. Second the hell does "flute" the edges mean?!)
10. Bake 45-55 Min or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on wire rack to room temp. (Or just dig in and eat your pie)
OK So if you don't know I'm living in England for the year so some thing I have to make up. Cooking shouldn't be about following a recipe exactly. Let me tell you I NEVER do exactly what the recipe says.
For this Pie I couldn't find pre made dough so I asked my friend Hannah to help me and teach me to make Pie Crust Dough. So this pie was legit made from scratch.
Also, I'm not sure how I feel about making my own caramel. It was definitely a learning experience. I though for sure I was doing it wrong about 3 times but I decided to just wait and it ended up turning out right. I didn't get all of it to melt again after adding the pears so I had a few hard chunks in my pie. some melted some didn't. but hey if you get one that's not melted that's a bonus for you because you get a little candy treat in your pie!
I must say this pie was amazing! I think I ate way too much of it and gave myself a stomachache but it was TOTALLY worth it!
