Fresh Pear Pie With a Lattice Top Crust

Pear pie with lattice top crust.
Diana Rattray
Prep: 30 mins
Cook: 35 mins
Total: 65 mins
Servings: 8 servings
Yield: 1 pie

Fresh pears make up the filling for this yummy pear pie, along with some lemon juice, sugar, and cinnamon. This is an excellent way to use fresh pears. Think about adding this flavorful and attractive pear pie to your holiday dessert menu.

This recipe includes instructions for a rich, all-butter pie pastry shell, but you can easily use a refrigerated, premade pie dough shell or your favorite pastry recipe. 

If you do not care to make a lattice crust, then top it with a conventional top pie crust. Make sure to cut vents in it to allow steam to escape and brush it with an egg wash before baking.

Ingredients

For the Pastry:

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

  • 2 teaspoons sugar

  • 3/4 teaspoon salt

  • 1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, chilled in the freezer, cut into small pieces

  • 7 to 9 tablespoons ice water

For the Filling:

  • 5 fresh pears

  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

For the Egg Wash:

  • 1 large egg

  • 1 tablespoon milk

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for pear pie.
    Diana Rattray
  2. Combine the 2 1/2 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons of sugar, and 3/4 teaspoon of salt in a food processor. Pulse to blend thoroughly. Add half of the butter pieces and pulse 6 times. Add the remaining butter and pulse 6 to 8 more times. The mixture should look crumbly with larger pea-sized pieces of butter visible.

    Prepare the crust in the food processor.
    Diana Rattray
  3. Add about 7 tablespoons of ice water and pulse a few times. Add more water, about 1 teaspoon at a time, until the dough is moist enough to hold together when squeezed.

  4. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Press the dough together and shape it into 2 flattened discs. Do not knead more than necessary to bring it together into a dough. Wrap the discs in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 to 45 minutes.

    Shape the dough into discs.
    Diana Rattray
  5. Take one disc of dough out of the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a circle about 2 inches larger than the upside-down pie plate. Fit the dough into the pie plate and leave the overhang.

  6. Peel the pears and cut them in half lengthwise. Remove the cores and fibers and slice them thinly. Toss them in a bowl with the lemon zest and juice.

    Slice the pears and toss with lemon juice.
    Diana Rattray
  7. Turn the sliced pears into the pie crust. Combine 1 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of flour, cinnamon, and 1/8 teaspoon of salt; sprinkle over the pears. Dot with the cut-up 2 tablespoons of butter.

    Fill the pie shell with the pear slices.
    Diana Rattray
  8. Remove the remaining disc of dough from the refrigerator. On the lightly floured surface, roll it out and cut it into strips about 3/4 inch in width. Arrange five dough strips across the top of the filling. Weave the strips in a criss-cross pattern over the top of the pie. Fold every other strip back and place a new strip at a right angle to the first set.

  9. To create the latticework, unfold the strips you folded and fold the alternate strips. Place another new strip over the strips and unfold the folded strips again. Repeat until you have covered the pie with "woven" strips of dough. Cut any long ends and wrap the overhang over the ends of the strips. Flute as desired.

    Pear pie and lattice crust ready for the oven.
    Diana Rattray
  10. Combine the egg and 1 tablespoon of milk and whisk until well blended. Brush the egg wash lightly over the lattice strips. Avoid the edge for now. Set the egg wash aside.

    Brush egg wash over the lattice pieces.
    Diana Rattray
  11. Cover the fluted edge of pie with a strip of foil or pie shield.

    Place a pie shield on the pie and then put it in the oven.
    Diana Rattray
  12. Bake the pie at 425 F for 15 minutes. Remove pie shield and brush the egg wash over the crust edge. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 F and bake the pie for about 20 to 25 minutes longer, or until the pears are tender and the crust is golden brown.

Tip

  • The egg wash produces a shiny, golden brown top crust. Make sure you dab it over the latticework and don't let it drip into the filling.

Recipe Variations

  • A crumble topping is another excellent option for this pie. Cut the pie crust ingredients in half and prepare the crust, fitting it into the pie plate and crimping as desired. For the crumb topping, combine 3/4 cup of flour with 3/4 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 8 tablespoons of butter which has been cut into small pieces, and 2/3 cup of rolled oats. Work the mixture together with fingers or a pastry blender and then sprinkle the crumbs over the pie filling. Bake as directed.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
764 Calories
50g Fat
76g Carbs
6g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 764
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 50g 64%
Saturated Fat 31g 156%
Cholesterol 153mg 51%
Sodium 631mg 27%
Total Carbohydrate 76g 28%
Dietary Fiber 5g 17%
Total Sugars 37g
Protein 6g
Vitamin C 5mg 27%
Calcium 40mg 3%
Iron 2mg 13%
Potassium 206mg 4%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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