Pie season is in full swing and we are so excited. Don’t get us wrong, we love to bake and decorate cakes, but our all time favorite dessert to eat is pie. Especially one served a la mode!
When you think of Thanksgiving dessert, pie is the first thing that comes to mind. More specifically pumpkin pie or apple pie. What about pears? Apples get all the love, but pears are delicious in baked goods. Today we are sharing with you our Cinnamon Butterscotch Pear Pie and it is the perfect addition to any Thanksgiving table.
The first thing you will need to do is make your pie dough. We like to make our pie dough the day before since it needs to chill in the fridge for two hours before you roll it out. Homemade pie dough is so good, but definitely takes some time. If you aren’t quite ready to take on a homemade crust or pressed for time, you can always buy the premade Pillsbury pie dough sold at almost any grocery store. We have used these in the past and they work great. You will need one box which comes with two crusts, one for the top and one for the bottom of the pie.
The key to this recipe is to use semi firm pears. Since pears are so soft and juicy when ripe you want to make sure not to use ripe pears so you don’t end up with a mushy pie. We also suggest cutting the pears into cubes rather than thin slices like you would typically for an appel pie.
This isn’t just any ordinay pear pie. The addition of our cinnamon butterscotch sauce takes it to a whole other level. The buttery creamy sauce pairs perfectly with the pears. You’ll need to make one batch of our cinnamon butterscotch sauce for the pie. The recipe makes about one cup of sauce. Use 3/4 of the sauce in the pie and reserve the rest to drizzle over the pie when you serve it. You will need to allow time for the sauce too cool before you add it to the pie so we suggest making the sauce while your dough is chilling in the fridge and before you make the pear filling.
We decorated the top of the pie with a beautiful lattice design that alternates wide, thin and braided strips. We then cut out a few leaves to give it a fall finish! Before you bake the pie brush the top with an egg wash. The egg wash will give the crust a golden shinny finish. It also acts as glue to secure the layers of your design. When attaching the leaves we brushed a little of the egg wash to the back of each leaf before placing on the pie. About half way through the baking time we like to add a crust shield around the edge of the crust so the edges don’t over bake. If you don’t have a crust shield you can make a diy one using foil.
Last but not least, allow our pie to rest. We recommend up to two hours. When you remove the pie from the oven the filling will be bubbly and thin. As the pie rests the filling will thicken preventing it from oozing all over when you slice the pie. Keep this in mind when baking. We like to bake our pie earlier in the day so it can rest before dessert is served. Plus, your house will smell amazing when your guests arrive!
If you make this recipe we would love to hear what you think. Comment below and tag us on Instagram @basilandbuttercream.
Cinnamon Butterscotch Pear Pie
Ingredients
- 1 Classic Pie Crust recipe (makes 2 crusts for top and bottom)
- 1 batch Cinnamon Butterscotch Sauce cooled to room temp
- 6 cups firm pears (pealed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp milk
Instructions
- Prepare your pie dough and allow to chill in the fridge for a two hours.
- Prepare the Cinnamon Butterscotch Sauce and set aside to cool.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a large bowl combine the pears, sugar, flour, cinnamon and lemon juice. Chill in the fridge while you roll out the pie dough for the bottom of the dish.
- Remove one disc of pie dough from the fridge and roll out on a floured surface using a floured rolling pin. If you are using a 9 inch pie dish you will want to roll the pie dough at least 12 inches in diameter. Start from the center rolling towards the outside. Rotate the direction you roll so you achieve a large circle. Carefully transfer the dough to your pie dish and line the bottom and sides of the dish. If you have excess dough hanging over the sides wait to trim the edges.
- Remove the filling from the fridge and spoon the pears into the prepared pie dish leaving behind any juice in the bowl. DO NOT add this juice to the pie. Feel free to discard the juice as you will not need it.
- Pour 3/4 of the Cinnamon Butterscotch sauce over the pears. Reserve the rest to drizzle over the pie when you serve it. Place the pie in the fridge while you roll out the top layer of dough.
- Roll out top layer of dough the same as you did the bottom layer. For our pie we created a lattice design, but you are free to create any design you like or fully cover the top. If you fully cover the top make sure to cut slits in the dough so the steam can escape.
- To create a lattice design: Use a pizza cutter or knife to cut strips of dough in your desired width. Lay half the strips horizontally on top of the pie, leaving a small gap between each strip. With the strips that are on the pie, pull back every other strip half way to one side. Lay a new strip vertically in the center of the pie. Lay your horizontal strips back down. Pull back the other half of the strips and lay another piece vertially. Continue till you reach the edge of the pie and repeat on the other side. Press the ends of each strip to the edge of the pie to secure.
- Trim the edge of the pie and either flute or crimp with a fork.
- Whisk together the egg and 1 tbsp of milk to create an egg wash. Brush the egg wash over the top of the pie dough.
- Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes remove the pie from the oven and add a pie crust shield around the edges of the pie. If you don't have a shield your can make a diy shield with foil. This will keep the edge of the crust from burning. Immediately put the pie back in the oven and reduce the heat to 350 degrees. Bake for another 35-40 minutes.
- Once the pie is done, remove from the oven and allow to rest at room temperature for a few hours so the filling can thicken and set up.
- Serve the pie with the remaining cinnamon butterscotch sauce and ice-cream if you desire.
- Store leftover pie in the fridge, covered, for up to a week.
