Cranberry and Pear Pie with Almond Topping

We saw this recipe in the homemakers magazine and thought the pear and cranberry combo interesting. It was amazing how the individual flavours came out in the pie... I would have thought the cranberries would have overpowered the pear but that wasn't the case at all. I would definitely make this recipe again!

Ingredients:

• 2 pie crusts
  
  Pie filling:
• 3 cups coarsely chopped cranberries
• 4 pears, peeled, cored and grated
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp corn syrup
• 1 1/2 tsp finely grated orange rind
• pinch salt
  
  Almond Topping:
• 1 1/4 cups whole almonds
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 3/4 tsp ground cardamom or cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup chilled unsalted butter, diced

Preparation:

• Almond Topping:
  • In food processor, pulse almonds until finely chopped.
  • Pulse in the rest of the ingredients except for the butter.
  • Pulse in butter just until crumbly.
  • With hands, mix and loosen to make crumbly topping.
• Pies:
  • In a bowl, toss together all of the pie filling ingredients.
  • Scrape into pie shells and top with Almond Topping.
  • Bake in bottom third of 425F (220C) oven for 15 minutes.
  • Reduce heat to 350F (180C) and bake until pastry is golden and filling is bubbling, 40 to 50 minutes.
  • (If pastry is browned but filling isn't bubbling, cover loosely with foil and continue baking).

Note:

• The original recipe used all the same measurements as above but was meant for a single pie. I found there was way too much filling and topping and used it to make 2 pies instead. The original recipe was 459 calories for each of 12 servings.

Prepared: 2010-10-08

Categories: Dessert | Pie

Recipe Source: Homemakers magazine (October 2010)