Pear-Cranberry Pie With Almond Meal Crust

Photo: Eliza Adam

Ingredients

Almond Meal Crust

1/2 cup almond meal flour

1 cup 2/ unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces, chilled

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, chilled

6 tablespoons ice water

Pear-cranberry filling

6 large ripe pears, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped

1 cup fresh cranberries, picked over for stems

3/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

Glaze

1 tablespoon egg, beaten with 1 milk

Turbinado, Demerara, or granulated sugar for sprinkling

Preparation

Make the almond-meal pie crust:

Combine both flours and salt in the food processor, pulse to mix. Scatter vegetable shortening and butter over the dry ingredients and pulse several times until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Drizzle half of the water over the flour mixture, pulse several times. If the mixture seems dry, add some more water and pulse until it seems cohesive enough to form a ball.

Using your hands, divide the pastry into one large ball and one smaller ball. Flatten each into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until dough is chilled enough to roll (at least 30 minutes).

Make the filling & pie:

Preheat the oven to 350 degree F.

Combine pears, cranberries, and the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl; toss to combine.

On a floured surface, roll the larger piece of pastry to about 12-inch circle; sprinkling it lightly with flour as needed so doesn’t stick. Carefully fold in half and transfer to a 9-inch pie pan.

Pour the filling over the bottom crust. Trim away excess dough, leaving about 1-inch overhang. Roll out the smaller piece of pastry and drape over filling. Trim edges and pinch to seal. Make several slits on top crust for the steam to escape. Brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle some sugar on top.

Set the pie on a baking sheet to catch the drips. Bake in the bottom rack for 50-60 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Cover the top crust with foil if it browns too quickly. Let cool before slicing.