Pear Cranberry Eggnog Pie

Pear Cranberry Eggnog Pie

Written by Emily

I’m not much of a pie person at Christmastime. You will find me squarely in the cookie camp. I’ve never met a Christmas cookie I didn’t like… except those peanut butter ones with the Hershey’s Kisses in them. We have a huge debate in my house right now about those because I don’t understand why they are even considered a Christmas cookie and the rest of my family loves them. Also, they are difficult to eat because you can’t get a good cookie-to-chocolate ratio in one bite. I’m refusing to make them and I’m imploring the rest of my household to not waste the butter and eggs on such a mediocre cookie.

ANYWAYS, I do like having a couple of pies to turn to that are strictly for the holidays. There is one recipe on here that I wrote in 2012 that has developed a loyal following over the years – Pear Eggnog Winter Pie. It’s such a good holiday pie, and those who love it, LOVE it. Every time I make it, though, I feel like I could do better. I made it this weekend for one of those loyal fans and decided it was time to see if I could create something new and improved. Some feedback from a friend who had made the pie before helped get me on the right path and I think I have created a cousin to this pie that is fantastic.

Against my better judgement, I had to add a couple of steps to upgrade this pie recipe. I’m all about as easy as possible, so I promise that if I added steps, they are necessary. And it pains me to say, but you have to partially bake the crust first for this one. I’m sorry. You also need to cook the fruit down a bit before baking. Double sorry.

The finishing touch on this pie is sugared cranberries. This was my first time making them and they are ridiculously easy. You can make them while the pie is cooking. I’m not sorry about this one – they are amazing. Here’s how:

Sugared Cranberries

  • Prepare: wash cranberries (this is enough for a whole bag) and pat dry, then place a wire cooling rack on top of a baking sheet. If you don’t have one, line the countertop with parchment or wax paper.
  • Bring 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water to a boil. Let it boil for about 2-3 minutes then remove from heat (do not let it burn… if it’s starting turn a light amber, remove from heat).
  • Toss cranberries in the syrup, coating them well.
  • With a slotted spoon, remove cranberries and place on cooling rack to dry – about 45 minutes to an hour.
  • When cranberries are partially dry and just a little sticky, roll them in a bowl of sugar and place them back on the rack to dry completely.
  • Will keep in an air tight container for 3 days.
Print Recipe

Pear Cranberry Eggnog Pie

I give you a delicious cousin to the original Pear Eggnog Winter Pie posted here in 2012.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Prepare pie crust as directed, roll and plate.
  2. Pre-heat oven to 400
  3. Line pie crust with foil and fill shell with pie weights or dry beans/rice. Be sure to fill all the way to the top so the sides are weighted down as well - this will help prevent shrinking.
  4. Bake covered pie shell for about 20 minutes, then gently remove the foil. Pierce any puffed crust with a fork to let air out.
  5. Return to oven uncovered for about 10 minutes or until crust is just beginning to brown. Remove from oven and let cool while you make your filling.
  6. Turn oven down to 350
  7. Peel and cube pears, placing them in a small skillet or pot. Add cranberries, 1/4 cup sugar and lemon juice. Just take 1/2 of a lemon and give a quick squeeze over the fruit. Save that half to give the mixture a little more juice later. * See image below for a look at the size of the fruit. Each pear slice was cut into about four parts.
  8. Cook fruit mixture down over medium heat for about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat when the fruit is just starting to soften and before all of the cranberries pop and get mushy.
  9. Add 1 1/2 teaspoon of fresh grated ginger root and any juice left in the half of lemon to the mixture - coat well and let cool while you put together your spices.
  10. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, flour and salt.
  11. In a medium bowl, beat 3 eggs with sugar/spice mixture.
  12. Add 2 teaspoons vanilla and 1 tablespoon of rum (optional).
  13. Add cream and mix well.
  14. Turn fruit mixture into the pie shell. Only fill the pie shell about half way - the fruit is going to cover the bottom and maybe just a little more. You will probably have some extra fruit and extra custard mix, so you can put it into a ramekin and make a little baby custard if you want.
  15. Slowly add the custard, covering the fruit and filling to just below the edges.
  16. Bake for about 35-40 minutes, JUST until the custard is set. You should take it out when it jiggles just a little bit in the middle. If making sugared cranberries, you can do this while the pie is baking.
  17. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
  18. Decorate with sugared cranberries. This is my best attempt - I am not artistic and I'm not sure this pie is intended to be a work of art. It's just supposed to be delicious!
  19. This was my other attempt - it was supposed to be a snowflake. Making pies pretty is not my strength.
  20. Store in the refrigerator for up to three days. I served it with fresh whipped cream and some extra sugared cranberries. It was really, really good. Enjoy!

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