When Eric and I were visiting my family the weekend after Thanksgiving, my dad realized that he had forgotten to make one of the desserts he’d been most looking forward to (I know where my absent mindedness comes from…hi Dad!). We ended up whipping this together in no time flat and it came out of the oven just as we were getting ready to leave. It was torture having this in the car with us on the way home and not being able to eat it! Pears aren’t in season right now but this came out delicious anyways. I wouldn’t recommend making it with canned pears as they are too mushy.
According to the original cookbook, this recipe was created by an 82-year old woman who won Moraga, California’s pear recipe contest. The town of Moraga was developed on Bartlett orchards, and they celebrate their heritage by hosting an annual pear festival.
Moraga Pear Pie from The Great Book of Pears by Barbara Jeanne Flores
What You’ll Need:
- 1 unbaked, premade pie shell (or 2 shells for a covered pie)
- 5 to 6 Bartlett pears, peeled, cored and sliced
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup butter, melted and cooled
- 4 tbsp flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
What To Do:
Preheat your oven to 375°F.
After preparing the pears (pre-pear-ing?), lay them in a regular pattern in the pie shell. I started out by fanning them in a tight spiral, but eventually you will have to just fit them in wherever you can. Also, be aware that the pears will decrease in size while baking, so you want the pie to be liberally mounded over the edge of the pie shell.
[I would insert a picture of this step here, except I forgot to take one. Use your imagination.]
In a mixing bowl, beat together the sugar, flour, eggs, and vanilla. Pour this mixture over the pears. I recommend doing this with the pie on a foil-lined baking sheet as it will likely splatter all over the place.
Bake the pie for 15 minutes. After that, reduce the oven temp to 350°F and continue baking for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes, cover the pie loosely with foil to prevent overbrowning. Bake for an additional 30 minutes (i.e. your total bake time is 75 minutes.)
I guarantee that this is unlike any pie you’ve ever had. The consistency is completely different due to the liquid mixture that is poured over the fruits – it is almost like a pear custard. Normally I am not a huge fan of pears (gotta be honest – the gritty texture kinda freaks me out) but I will gladly eat them this way any time! You can easily switch the pears for any other fruit you’d prefer, including apples, peaches, or plums (I plan on trying this in the spring.) Have fun experimenting, and enjoy!
