Pear Pie

My Thanksgiving pear pie turned out well, so I am going to post the recipe on my blog. It's actually a combination of 3 different recipes - hope you like the results! (Shout out to my friend Sydnie Speer for first introducing me to the concept of pear pie, and just how delicious it could be.)

Pear Pie with Streusel Topping

Crust:
1 ¼ c. flour
¼ tsp. salt
3 T. butter, cut into small pieces
1 T. shortening, cut into small pieces
½ T. fresh lemon juice
Ice water

Lightly spoon flour into measuring cups; level with knife. Combine flour and salt in a large bowl; cut in butter and shortening with a pastry blender until mixture resembles course meal. Add lemon juice. Sprinkle surface with ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and toss with a fork until moist and crumbly. Shape dough into a ball, and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill 1 hour.

Filling:
3 T. flour
¼ tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. salt
2/3 c. plus 1 T. sugar
2 ½ lb. firm-ripe Bartlett or Anjou pears, cored and peeled, each cut into 8 wedges
1 T. fresh lemon juice

Whisk together flour, nutmeg, salt and sugar. Gently toss with pears and lemon juice.
Roll out dough and fit into a 9 ½ inch glass or metal pie plate. Fill shell with filling and sprinkle with topping.

Topping:
½ c. sugar
1/3 c. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ c. butter

Mix all together and crumble evenly over pie.

Bake pie on a baking sheet for 20 minutes at 400F, then reduce oven temperature to 350F and cover pie edge with a pie shield or foil. Continue to bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling, 50 to 60 minutes more. Cool pie on a rack to warm or room temperature, at least 2 hours. Makes 8 servings.