The Enamored Life

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Bourbon Pear Crumble Pie

Hannah Flattery

It’s officially PIE SEASON! And I’m going to preach it loud and proud. With Thanksgiving Day tomorrow I’ve decided that my contribution, other than great conversation and a friendly smile to admire, will be the dessert because lets be honest… that is my favorite part of everyday.

With so many delicious and mouth watering pie options I decided to check out one of my all-time favorite food bloggers and see what recipes she had. Literally everything I make from Joy the Baker is truly amazing so I knew I was in good hands. Scrolling through pages of pie options I landed on the Bourbon Pear Crumble. It seemed adventurous enough for me to get excited about AND I knew my family would love the combination of bourbon, pear, and delicious sugary crumble on top of it all.

Okay so let’s get to cooking! I suggest that if you’re planning on eating this dessert the same day you should definitely beginning cooking early in the day. 

Starting with the dough, of course, you begin mixing together the flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Add in the cold, cubed butter and use your fingers to mix into the flour mixture. Once the butter is worked into the mixture you create a well and pour in the cold buttermilk. Use a fork to bring the dough together. If necessary, you can add a little more buttermilk to ensure the dough is completely mixture together, moist to the touch.

Lightly dust your kitchen workspace with some flour and place the dough mixture on top. Gently knead into a disk shape. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.  No one will judge you if you decided to take a nap right about now.

After about an hour or so, and the dough is all nice and rested it’s time to roll it out. Again, on a lightly floured surface, roll the crust to about 1/8 inch thick. I like to place the pie pan on top to gauge if I’ve rolled the dough out enough. Once you’ve reached the perfect size it’s my least favorite time during the pie process. Transferring the dough from the counter to the pan. I almost ALWAYS cry during this part, struggling to get the dough off the counter in one piece. It typically is quite sad but this time it was a success! Some tips that I’ve found work are: flipping the dough over mid roll, sliding a knife under the rolled dough to ensure none of it is stuck to the counter, and lastly I place the lifted dough on top of the rolling pin.

Once you’ve successfully transferred the dough from the counter to the pan, adjust the dough so it’s perfectly nestled in. Trim the edges and crimp with your finders or a fork. Cover the pie with plastic wrap and place back in the refrigerator for between 30 minutes and 3 hours. Is it time for another nap? I wont judge.

Well, maybe you can cut the second nap a bit short to begin working on the filling. In a medium bowl mix together the sliced (and pealed) pears, lemon juice, and sugar. Allow the mixture to sit together for 20 minutes. Once those 20 minutes are up you can add the brown sugar, flour, spices, pepper, salt, bourbon, bitters, and vanilla. Make sure the pears get an even coating.

Last comes the crumble! In a medium bowl mix together the four, oats, sugar, and salt. Add the butter chucks and mix in, similar to when making the dough. Add the pecans.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Ensure that you’ll be using the middle rack so the top of the pie doesn’t get burned. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (you’ll place this under the pie to catch any of the juicy pieces that bubble over).

Remove the pie dough from the refrigerator. Mix in about ½ a cup of the crumble mixture into the pear mixture. Add the fruit mixture into the dough and top with the crumble mixture. Place on the prepared baking sheet and into the oven.

Bake for 20 minutes and then reduce the heat to 375 and bake for another 30 minutes until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and let cool for about 3 hours (this is why I gave the heads up on starting this early in the day if you’re looking to eat it that night). Allowing the pie to cool properly is actually a pretty important step because it allows the juices to thicken and rest… no one wants a runny pie!

Lastly, serve, eat and ENJOY! (With some whipped cream or ice cream of course)

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Bourbon Pear Crumble Pie

Ingredients

Crust:

  • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
  • ¼ cup cold buttermilk

Filling:

  • 6 ripe (but firm) pears, any variety, pealed & sliced
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 2/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon allspice
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
  • pinch of grated nutmeg
  • pinch of black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons bourbon (I used Crown Apple)
  • 2 dashes bitters
  • 1-teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Crumble:

  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup old-fashioned oats
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • large pinch of salt
  • 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
  • ½ cup chopped pecans

Recipe:

  1. Mix together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add cold, cubed butter and using your fingers mix the butter into the flour mixture. Create a well in the mixture and pour in the buttermilk. Use a fork to bring the dough together. Add more buttermilk if necessary.
  2. Lightly flour your kitchen work surface and place the dough on top. Gently knead into a disk shape. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
  3. After an hour has passed toss some more flour onto your work surface. Remove the plastic wrap and place the dough on the four. Roll the dough to 1/8 inch thick. I check the diameter by placing the pie pan on top. Transwer to the pie pan and crimp the edges. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for between 30 minutes and 3 hours.
  4. Begin making the filling by tossing together the sliced pears, lemon juice, and sugar. Let sit for 20 minutes. Add brown sugar, flour, spices, pepper, salt, bourbon, bitters, and vanilla. Toss so the pears are coated evenly.
  5. Make the crumble by mixing together flour, oats, sugar, and salt. Add the cold butter chunks. Mix them in similarly to when making the dough. Add the pecans and mix.
  6. Add about a handful of the crumble mixture to the filling mixture before placing it in the crust.
  7. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  8. Add the filling to the pie dough and top generously with the crumble.
  9. Place the pie on the lined baking sheet and slide it into the oven.
  10. Bake for 20 minutes and then reduce the heat to 375 and bake for another 30 minutes.
  11. Remove from the oven and let cool for about 3 hours.
  12. Serve with whipped cream and your favorite ice cream!

 

 

Adapted from Joy the Baker