Imagine a delicious homemade pear pie, laced with a flakey buttery crust and a juicy, cinnamon and nutmeg infused fresh pear pie filling. It’s how dessert dreams are made!
A sweet friend recently dropped off a bag of fresh pears from their farm. And, my mouth started watering just thinking about the pie I was going to make. When life hands you a bag of pears, well, you have to make a pear pie! I think it’s a rule of nature!
You’ve never tasted a pear pie? How can that be? We need to remedy that right now. With a purchased pie crust, there is nothing easier to make. Peel and slice some fresh pears. Mix them with a little sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour, and lemon juice and pour into a prepared pie crust. Bake and voilà, pear pie!
A close cousin to apple pie, pear pie takes the best of summer’s fresh pears and turns them into a luscious dessert that will have you coming back for more. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream, and you have a dessert that your company will rave about!
What kind of pears to use in Pear Pie?
The best pears are the old-fashioned, hard sand pears you probably remember from your youth or backyard pear tree. Barlett pears which are firm and not too ripe also work well. You want a pear that doesn’t give when it is squeezed softly. If your pears are soft, they will be mushy after baking. The softer pears will also give off too much juice, which will cause your crust to be soggy.
More dessert recipes with fruit:
If you like easy dessert recipes with fresh fruit or berries, you might also be interested in these popular recipes on my blog:
- Old Fashioned Strawberry Pie
- Southern Style Easy Fresh Peach Pie
- Classic Southern Style Blackberry Pie
- Southern Peach Cobbler
- Classic Southern Strawberry Shortcake, and
- Strawberry Trifle with Angel Food Cake
Need more dessert ideas? Check out all of my dessert recipes here.
How to make Pear Pie:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Place one crust in an ungreased 9-inch glass pie plate. Smooth out when your fingers so that it covers the bottom and sides of the dish.
Add the apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, lemon juice, and nutmeg to a large bowl. Gently stir all ingredients until they are thoroughly mixed.
Pour into the prepared pie crust. Spread the filling out evenly.
Top with the second crust. Gently fold the excess top crust over and under the sides of the bottom crust and press edges together to seal. You should have an even double roll of pie crust around the top.
To flute, the pie crust, use one finger to push the inner edge out while pinching the outer edge in with the thumb and index finger of the other hand. Repeat around the entire edge of the pie. Alternatively, you can take a fork and press the tines around the edge of the pie to seal the crust.
Cut several slits in the top crust.
Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and place strips of aluminum foil around the pie crust edges to keep it from browning too fast. Bake for another 20-25 minutes.
Cool on a wire rack for at least two hours before serving.
Sharon’s Expert Tips:
- If you need help fluting the pie crust, check out this short instructional video.
- This recipe is best when made with hard or firm slightly underripe pears.
- Do not make the pie filling ahead of time. The pears will turn brown and will give off too much juice, which will result in a soggy crust.
- You can use a frozen unbaked deep-dish pie shell if you do not want a top crust. If you do, you can top the pears with a streusel mixture consisting of 1/3 cup flour, 1/3 cup brown sugar, and three tablespoons cold butter. Mix the streusel ingredients with a fork and sprinkle evenly over the top of the pears — bake as directed.
- Instead of using aluminum foil to keep your crust from burning. Pie crust shields can be purchased, which you can reuse.
- This recipe calls for a 9-inch pie plate and all I had was a dish that measured 9.5 inches at the top. Because of this, my bottom crust wasn’t large enough to extend past the edge of the dish. Consequently, I didn’t have enough overlap to produce a pretty fluted edge. Of course, the pie still tasted the same, but the crust edges weren’t as pretty as they could have been.
Pear Pie Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 cups thinly sliced pears peeled, about 6-7 medium-size pears
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 pkg refrigerated pie crusts You need two crusts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Place one crust in an ungreased 9-inch glass pie plate. Smooth out when your fingers so that it covers the bottom and sides of the dish.
- Add the apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, lemon juice, and nutmeg to a large bowl. Gently stir all ingredients until they are thoroughly mixed. Pour into the prepared pie crust. Spread the filling out evenly.
- Top with the second crust. Gently fold the excess top crust over and under the sides of the bottom crust and press edges together to seal. You should have an even double roll of pie crust around the top.
- To flute, the pie crust, use one finger to push the inner edge out while pinching the outer edge in with the thumb and index finger of the other hand. Repeat around the entire edge of the pie. Alternatively, you can take a fork and press the tines around the entire edge of the pie to seal the crust.
- Cut several slits in the top crust.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and place strips of aluminum foil around the pie crust edge to keep it from browning too fast. Bake for another 20-25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for at least two hours before serving.
Notes
- This recipe is best when made with hard or firm slightly underripe pears.
- Do not make the pie filling ahead of time. The pears will turn brown and will give off too much juice, which will result in a soggy crust.
- You can use a frozen unbaked deep-dish pie shell if you do not want a top crust. If you do, you can top the pears with a streusel mixture consisting of 1/3 cup flour, 1/3 cup brown sugar, and 3 tablespoons cold butter. Mix the streusel ingredients with a fork and sprinkle evenly over the top of the pears — bake as directed.
- If you need help fluting the pie crust, check out this short instructional video.
- Instead of using aluminum foil to keep your crust from burning, pie crust shields can be purchased, which you can reuse.
- This recipe calls for a 9-inch pie plate and all I had was a dish that measured 9.5 inches at the top. Because of this, my bottom crust wasn't large enough to extend past the edge of the dish. Consequently, I didn't have enough overlap to produce a pretty fluted edge. Of course, the pie still tasted the same, but the crust edges weren't as pretty as they could have been.
Nutrition
I loved this pie and so did my husband. The pears were amazing. Such a nice break from the apple pie we have all been making for decades!
Hi Julie,
I’m so happy you enjoyed the pie and thanks too for letting me know!
Happy New Year!
Sharon