Thanksgiving Recipe: Vanilla & Pear Crumble Pie

November 18th, 2009 | Filed under: breakfast, dessert, recipe, sides & bites | Tags: crumble, pear, pie, vanillaVanilla & Pear Crumble Pie

On the subject of pie vs. crumble, I must admit that I’m torn. Sometimes, I like a good and messy crumble with plenty of oats and brown sugar. Other times, I prefer the neat triangles and flaky crust of a pie. Well, I will no longer choose between the two. It’s like Sophie’s Choice. Ok, so maybe I exaggerate, but it really is a tough decision and I won’t make it anymore.

I’m taking Thanksgiving off this year to go on vacation (yay!), but I didn’t want to miss the big Thanksgiving meal we only have once a year. I’ve been making stuffing, roasted squash and carrot pumpkin soup all month to make up for it. Last weekend, I made dessert.

The questions was: Pie or crumble? Why not both? This pie has a ton of crumble top on it, which is much easier – and tastier – than a lattice top. I usually make apple, but since this year we’re going non-traditional, I used pears. All I can say is: Wow. See you later apples – I’m making pear pie from now on. The vanilla and cinnamon bring out the pear flavor, and the crumble top was thick, crunchy and a perfect contrast to the filling.

Served with a ball of vanilla ice cream, it was an amazing way to end just about any meal.

 

Vanilla & Pear Crumble Pie

1 deep dish pie shell (I used frozen to save time. Feel free to use your own.)

5 pears, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. fine grain sea salt
1/2 cup natural cane sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 a vanilla bean (or 1 tsp. vanilla extract)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 325°.

Split your vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Add them to a large bowl. Add the pears, flour, salt, sugar and cinnamon. Use your hands or a spoon to carefully combine the ingredients together, making sure the pears don’t break apart. Set aside.

In a smaller bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar and butter. Using a pastry cutter or fork, combine the mixture until it resembles large crumbs.

Place the pie tin on a rimmed cookie sheet, then spoon the filling into the pie shell. Top with the crumble mixture. Your pie should be very tall and overflowing. The rimmed cookie sheet will catch any spillage.

Cover the exposed pie shell with thin strips of foil. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 25 minutes.

Let cool for at least an hour before serving. Sprinkle with pecans.

Makes about 12 slices of pie.

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17 Comments

17 Comments on “Thanksgiving Recipe: Vanilla & Pear Crumble Pie”

  1. 1Fran said at 2:23 pm on November 18th, 2009:Hm. I may have to change my pie-plans for next week. This looks very, very good.
  2. 2mel said at 2:36 pm on November 18th, 2009:Fran – Thanks. You can always make two 🙂
  3. 3CookiePie said at 2:42 pm on November 18th, 2009:OOoooooo! I was actually thinking about doing an apple crumble pie, but I am loving your pear idea!
  4. 4chocolate shavings said at 3:07 pm on November 18th, 2009:Beautiful photo!
  5. 5Amber @ Native Food and Wine said at 3:28 pm on November 18th, 2009:Looks and sounds great. Love Thanksgiving food – except for greenbean casserole. Hope that is dead.Enjoy your vacation too. Cheers!
  6. 6Memoria said at 8:55 pm on November 18th, 2009:This pie looks yummy!
  7. 7Liz said at 10:49 am on November 19th, 2009:This looks so great, Mel! I’m going to have to make it.
  8. 8Quasi Serendipita said at 11:01 am on November 24th, 2009:Sounds delicious!
  9. 9Rachel said at 3:29 pm on November 24th, 2009:Made this last night. Huge hit!!! Absolutely delicious. Had to use vanilla extract though, would love to try with fresh vanilla.
  10. 10Mike said at 7:02 pm on November 25th, 2009:Sounds good. Mmmm.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk_LBmtON9c
  11. 11lisa (dandysugar) said at 9:31 am on December 2nd, 2009:I love the crumble idea. This looks delicious–I love the vanilla bean!
  12. 12Foodelf said at 9:39 am on November 14th, 2010:Perfect vehicle for pears and what a lovely plate!
  13. 13Barbara Young said at 5:25 pm on November 17th, 2010:This pie looks delicious, I got to have it for thanksgiving dinner.
  14. 14Mahalia said at 10:53 am on November 27th, 2010:Hello people! Happy Thanksgiving!!!! 🙂
    Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, and each yr I like to get into the mood-extend the holiday, as it were-by reading “Thanksgiving novels.” And in addition, most of these stories are mostly about family, about coming together to heal old hurts and giving thanks for the gift of love. .. —
    Are You Better Off These days Than You Had been 5 Years Ago?
  15. 15pu said at 5:11 pm on December 6th, 2010:this is gonna sound stupid, but what does ‘Cover the exposed pie shell with thin strips of foil. ‘ mean?like in a lattice shape?
  16. 16mel said at 8:44 am on December 7th, 2010:pu – Just cover the rim of the baking dish (where the pie shell is) with foil. It’s removed halfway through baking so that the shell doesn’t burn.
  17. 17stella said at 12:14 pm on December 20th, 2010:Gosh, I love your recipes…so inspirational and delicious and very straight forward. Thanks for the great recommendations this year and looking forward to 2011.

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