Apple Crumb Pie with Pears & Cranberries
Apple crumb pie taken to the next level to reinvent a favorite seasonal dessert.
Equipment
- Food Processor optional
- mandolin slicer optional
Ingredients
Crumb topping
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup old fashioned oats
- 6 Tbs granulated sugar
- 1/4 heaping tsp cinnamon
- 6 Tbs cold butter
Pie Filling
- 3 cups baking apples peeled & thinly sliced
- 1 cup D'anjou pear peeled & thinly sliced
- 1 cup cranberries washed, dried, and cut in half
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tbs sugar
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
Instructions
Prepare your pie crust
- Make pie crust (see link above for my Flaky Homemade Pie Crust) or use store bought. Press pie crust into a pie tin, crimp the edges with a fork or your fingers, and place in fridge or freezer to chill until your filling is ready.
Prepare your crumb topping
- Put all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor except butter. Pulse briefly to combine. If not using a food processor, whisk together ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.
- Cut butter into small cubes. For the food processor, add the butter cubes to the bowl and pulse until well combined. If you're not using a food processor, add the butter cubes to the mixing bowl and use a pastry cutter to cut in the fat until well combined and the mixture is crumbly.
- Set aside the mixture in the fridge while you prep your filling.
Prepare the pie filling
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Add all the sliced fruit to a large mixing bowl.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix well.
- Spoon the pie filling into the prepared pie shell and spread out evenly.
- Top the filling with your prepared crumb topping.
- Place the pie on a large aluminum baking sheet. Place it on the bottom rack of the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes, until the pie is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling up along the crust.
- Let cool for 30-60 minutes prior to serving.
Notes
Pie crust: You can use a store-bought crust, but I highly recommend making your own. You can use my tried-and-true pie crust recipe here.
I recommend baking the pie in a disposable aluminum pie shell for superior heat conductivity and a flakier crust. As a bonus, the aluminum pans can go straight from the freezer to the oven.
I recommend freezing the pie shell before adding your filling, crumbs, and then baking.
You can freeze a completely assembled unbaked pie and then bake it from frozen. See blog post for full instructions. Bake at 400 for approx. an hour and 30 minutes, until the fruit is bubbling and the crust is golden brown.
I don't recommend using a pie crust shield because I think it compresses the pastry and yields a less flaky crust. Plus I don't think it's necessary as the crust isn't too dark without one.