I do NOT bake! Recipe: Pear – Cranberry Pie

I am not a baker. I don’t like it, I am not good at it. I am not a fan of having to follow a recipe to a tee. I am an improviser if you will. But fall is here, and I bought some amazing, fresh, local cranberries, and my dad’s wife had this amazing sounding recipe, so I thought I would give it a try.

Everything was going well, and dare I say it, I was enjoying baking. Then it happened. I cut my fingernail right off with my mandolin slicer. Ryan is always telling me I cut things way to fast and carelessly, and I always dismiss him to later appear with several band aids. Well this one hurt. This one gave me a hot flash and brought me with in an inch of passing out. So the baking plan was put on hold as Ryan squeezed my finger for an hour and I sipped OJ.

3 hours later and I am starting to feel better and ready to tackle this baking thing again. Luckily, nothing in the kitchen was polluted. I washed off my mandolin (which some how did not get polluted either) and continued with my pear slicing…very slowly and carefully.

The next obstacle I incurred was the crust. Crust is the main reason I do not bake. So I cheated and bought Trader Joe’s pie crust, thinking this would make things easier. WRONG! It was crumbly from the start, and I was lost as to how to place and seal the top crust. But I fumbled my way through.

I placed the pie in the oven, and checked it after 12 minutes to see if I needed to cover the crusts so they wouldn’t burn. I did. I spent the next 30 minutes trying to figure out how to cover just the outer crusts with tin foil. I burnt my hand in 3 places, and dropped plenty of “pie gunk” on the bottom if my freshly cleaned oven. I finally shut the oven, said screw it, and set the timer for 30 more minutes. Whatever happens happens.

Well, to my surprise, the pie was delicious! The flavors were a perfect balance of sweet and sour, the pears cooked to the exact consistency I wanted them at, and the crust was flaky and yummy! I may or may not have eaten 2 pieces instead of lunch!

So, was the outcome enough to make me want to tackle baking again? Perhaps, but I will need some of those cut-proof gloves first! I think I will try a cake next time, they seem much safer!

Ingredients:

• 2 unbaked pie crusts
• 3 medium pears, pealed, seeded and sliced
• 1 1/4 cup coarsely chopped cranberries
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons orange juice
• 2 tablespoons butter

Glaze

• 5 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons orange juice

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 425
• In a large bowl, mix together cranberries, pears, sugar, cornstarch and orange juice
• Press one pie crust into a 9″ pie pan
• Fill pie with mixture
• Dot with butter
• Place top crust on the pie, flute edges and cut vents into top
• Bake 40 – 50 minutes until golden brown – Check the pie after 12 minutes, if edges are starting to brown already, cover them with foil so they do not burn.
• In a small dish, mix together glaze ingredients
• When pie is done baking, brush glaze over the crust while the pie is still hot.

Cranberry