A fall pie filled with juicy fresh pears and a mixture of dried fruit in a buttery gluten-free crust. Recipe and photo created by Cafe Johnsonia.
- One 19-ounce package Pamela's Bread Mix, dry (reserve yeast for another use)
- 12 Tablespoons (1½ sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 6-7 Tablespoons ice water
- 3 large ripe, but firm pears (about 1½ pounds), cored and thinly sliced
- 1 cup chopped dried figs (4 ounces dried figs, chopped)
- ¼ cup each: currants, raisins, dried cranberries, chopped dates
- 2 Tablespoons coconut sugar, maple syrup or brown sugar
- Juice and zest of 1 lemon
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ cup Pamela's Bread Mix (reserved from pie crust)
- ½ cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
- ½ cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts
- ½ cup chilled butter, cut into cubes
- Whipped cream, coconut cream, mascarpone cheese, or creme fraiche, for topping
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
FOR THE CRUST:
FOR THE FILLING:
FOR THE STREUSEL TOPPING:
TO MAKE THE CRUST:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Have a deep-dish pie plate ready to go.
Remove ½ cup of the dry bread mix from the package and set aside for streusel topping. Place remaining mix into the bowl of a food processor or electric mixer. Scatter the cubed butter over the bread mix. Pulse, if using food processor, about 10 times to work the butter into the flour. If using a mixer, turn on to low speed to work the butter into the flour. It will resemble cornmeal with larger, pea-sized pieces of butter remaining.
With the processor or mixer running on low speed, add the ice water to the bowl a little at a time. You may not need all of it. When the dough comes together into a ball, stop the motor. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides. Check to see if it's too dry. If so, add a little more water. It should be soft and pliable, like cookie dough, without being too sticky.
Turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper. Form into a disk. Place another sheet of parchment paper on top and use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a large round about ¼" thick.
Carefully transfer the dough to the pie plate. If it cracks or breaks, no worries. Just press it back together and continue. Trim off the excess dough from around the edge. Decorate the edge all the way around by pinching it between two fingers, or using another method. Chill until ready to fill and bake. (The pie dough scraps can be saved and rolled out to form pie crust cookies.)
TO MAKE THE FILLING:
In a very large bowl, combine pears, dried fruit, sugar, lemon juice and zest, and spices. Transfer to the pie plate and prepare streusel.
TO MAKE THE TOPPING:
In a food processor or using a mixer, combine the reserved bread mix, sugar, and nuts. Scatter the butter over the top. Pulse in the food processor or turn mixer on to low to incorporate butter into the dry ingredients. It should look crumbly, but should hold together when pressed.
Squeeze small bits of the streusel to form bigger clumps and place them evenly on top of the pie filling. Sprinkle the rest of the streusel over top to cover completely and fill in any gaps.
Bake for 60-75 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Let cool slightly before serving.
To serve - cut into wedges and top as desired.