Creamy Pear Pie

This recipe was recently featured on Our Best Bites and I couldn't wait to try it. I made it for a "pie party" we attended over the weekend and it was a big hit. It's peary delicious! The sweetness is just right; it tastes great plain without any whipped cream or ice cream... although, I wouldn't turn this pie down if it was heated up with some vanilla ice cream on top!

Ingredients:

1 double pie crust

About 1 1/2 lb firm (not too ripe, not too green) pears, peeled and sliced

(I used about 5 Bartletts)

1 T all-purpose flour

1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

3 oz cream cheese

2 T milk

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

2 T butter, melted

sugar & cinnamon for sprinkling

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450. Roll the bottom of the pie crust into the pie plate.

Toss the sliced pears in the flour. Arrange them evenly over the pie crust in the pie plate. Set aside.

In a blender, combine the sweetened condensed milk, cream cheese, milk, cinnamon, and ginger. Blend until smooth. Pour evenly over the pear mixture. Use the remaining crust to form the top of the pie (I liek doing a lattice top). Brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with sugar & cinnamon.

Bake at 450 for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake for another 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the creamy mixture had thickened. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.

I love doing lattice-top crusts on pies and soon I'll have a tutorial on here! So fun and really not as difficult as you might think. Guess what else is not that difficult? Homemade pie crusts! I've tried a few recipes for crusts over the years and they always taste better than store-bought. For this pie I used Our Best Bites' favorite crust recipe and it was lovely:

1 1/4 c flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 + 1 T shortening (I used butter flavored)

3-4 T ice water

Combine flour & salt; cut in shortening with a pastry blender. Add ice water gradually and, with your fingers, gently turn over the dough until all the water is incorporated and it forms a ball. Be sure not to over-mix or over-work the dough. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until using. This makes a single pie crust, so you'll need to double this recipe for a double-crust pie.