Almond Pear Pie Recipes

ALMOND, PEAR AND CHERRY POCKET PIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment.
• Lightly flour your work surface. Unfold 1 puff pastry sheet at a time and roll each into a 10 by 15-inch rectangle. Using a ruler, cut each into 2 (5 by 15-inch) rectangles, then cut each rectangle into 5 (5 by 3-inch) rectangles. Transfer the 20 rectangles on to the baking sheet and chill in the fridge until cold.
• Peel, halve and core the pears, and then cut them into 1/4-inch thick slices. Toss them with the almonds, cherries, sugar, cornstarch, salt, lemon juice and almond extract.
• Remove the rectangles from the fridge, place 5 of them on a new baking sheet and evenly spoon half the fruit mixture onto them, leaving a little bit of a border all around. Beat the egg and lightly brush the borders. Lay 5 more rectangles of dough over the filling. Use a fork to press them gently sealed. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
• Brush the tops with the beaten egg. Cut 3 vents, about 1/2-inch long, in the top of each pie. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake, rotating once, until the crust is golden and you see the juices bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool the pies on a cooling rack at least 20 minutes before serving.

PEAR-CARDAMOM PIE WITH ALMOND CRUST

Steps:

• Make crust:
• Blend flour, marzipan and salt in processor until marzipan is finely ground. Add butter and shortening and cut in using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix 3 tablespoons pear nectar and almond extract and blend in using on/off turns. Gradually blend in enough pear nectar by tablespoonfuls to form moist clumps. Gather dough into ball. Divide dough into 2 pieces. Flatten each into disk. Wrap each disk in plastic and refrigerate 2 hours. (Dough can be prepared up to 3 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. Soften dough slightly at room temperature before rolling out.)
• Make filling:
• Grind brown sugar and vanilla bean in processor 1 minute. Add cornstarch and cardamom and process until vanilla bean is almost completely blended. Transfer to large bowl. Add pears and pear nectar; toss to coat.
• Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Roll out 1 dough disk between sheets of floured parchment paper to 13-inch round. Peel off top sheet of parchment. Invert dough into 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Peel off top sheet of parchment. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch. Transfer filling to crust. Roll out second dough disk between sheets of floured parchment to 13-inch round. Drape dough over filling. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch. Press edges together to seal; fold under. Crimp edge decoratively.
• Gather scraps and reroll between sheets of floured parchment. Cut out leaf shapes using cookie cutter. Arrange atop pie. Brush top of crust (not edge) with glaze. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Cut several slits in top to allow steam to escape during baking. Bake pie 15 minutes. Cover crust edge with foil to prevent over-browning. Continue baking until crust browns and pears are almost tender when pierced with skewer, about 40 minutes. Cool pie on rack at least 1 1/2 hours. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

ALMOND PEAR TART

Steps:

• On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 10-in. circle. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. , In a large bowl, combine 3/4 cup sugar and flour; add pears and toss to coat. Spoon over the crust to within 2 in. of edges. Fold up edges of crust over filling, leaving center uncovered. Sprinkle with remaining sugar. , Bake at 450° for 15 minutes or until crust is golden and filling is bubbly. Sprinkle with almonds; bake 5 minutes longer. Using the parchment, slide tart onto a wire rack to cool.

PEAR AND ALMOND TART

Steps:

• For pears:
• Bring 4 cups water, sugar, and lemon juice to boil in large saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add pears. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until pears are very tender, turning occasionally, about 20 minutes. Cool pears in syrup. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
• For crust:
• Blend powdered sugar, almonds, and salt in processor until nuts are finely ground. Add butter and blend until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Mix in egg yolk. Add flour. Using on/off turns, blend until dough comes together in clumps. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 3 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.)
• For almond filling:
• Finely grind almonds and flour in processor. Mix in 7 tablespoons sugar, then butter, blending until smooth. Mix in egg. Transfer filling to medium bowl. Cover and chill at least 3 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.)
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Roll out chilled dough on floured sheet of parchment paper to 12-inch round, lifting and turning dough occasionally to free from paper. Using paper as aid, turn dough into 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom; peel off paper. Seal any cracks in dough. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch. Fold overhang in, making double-thick sides. Pierce crust all over with fork. Freeze crust 10 minutes.
• Line crust with buttered foil, buttered side down, then fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake crust until sides are set, about 20 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Bake crust until sides are golden and bottom is set, pressing with back of fork if crust bubbles, about 10 minutes longer. Cool crust in pan on rack. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.
• Spread almond filling evenly in crust. Stem pears and cut each in half lengthwise; scoop out cores. Cut each half crosswise into thin slices. Gently press each pear half to fan slices but keep slices tightly overlapped. Slide spatula under pears and arrange atop filling like spokes of wheel with narrow ends in center.
• Bake tart until golden and tester inserted into center of filling comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool tart in pan on rack. Push pan bottom up, releasing tart from pan. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.) Cut tart into wedges; sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired, and serve.

ALMOND-PEAR PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. Make pie crusts as directed on box for Two-Crust Pie, using 9-inch glass pie plate. Shape almond paste into a disk. On lightly floured surface, roll or pat into 8-inch circle. Place in bottom of pie crust.
• In large bowl, mix pears, 2 tablespoons sugar, the flour, apple pie spice and lemon juice; mix well. Spoon over almond paste in crust. Place top crust over pears. Seal edges and flute. Cut slits in crust to vent steam. Brush top crust with egg. Sprinkle with almonds and 1 teaspoon sugar.
• Bake 55 to 65 minutes or until pears are tender and crust is deep golden brown. Cool at least 1 hour before serving.