The apples on my kitchen counter are looking at me in utter confusion. They don’t understand how I could make a beautiful pie crust, make a sweet, pecan-studded crumble, bring out the bourbon, and reach for the pears instead of them.
They can’t understand how I’d have a pie party without them. Especially this time of year.
I think I heard them whispering and conspiring with the canned pumpkin to stage some sort of baking coup, but I’ll keep my eye on them. Frankly, they’re pretty cocky and presumptive. I can make a delicious Fall pie without them.
The apples are going to be so mad when I eat them with plain old peanut butter, but really… can we show pears some love? It’s time.
Chill out apples.
For this lovely Pear Bourbon Crumble pie I used Red Anjou pears because they were beautiful (and totally on sale). I wanted them ripe, but not mushy-gushy, and getting to that point take great attention to the fruit bowl. One day pears are perfectly ripe but firm, the next day they’re bruised and molding. Keep an eye on em.
(The apples are like… SEEEE, we told you so! And I’m like… hush up, apples.)
This pie recipe is just slightly adapted from The Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book. One of my very favorites.
Pears are peeled and sliced. Some pears may be more firm than others. That’s absolutely fine. It will make for good texture in our pie slices.
Lemon is essential.
Lemon and sugar are tossed with the pears to help the fruit release some of their sweet juices. It’s a sit and wait situation. But while we wait… why not crumble?
The crumble topping is a combination of oats, brown sugar, flour, pecans, and cold butter. It’s hearty and sweet, and browns beautiful on top of the bubbling fruit.
We’ve talked about homemade pie crust six ways to Sunday, haven’t we?
Here’s Five Tips For The Best All-Butter Pie Crust from scratch… because it hurts me when you buy pre-made pie crust.
Into our juicy pears we add brown sugar flour, spices like ginger (perfection!), and all spice, and bourbon (heaven!) and bitters… cocktail bitters for depth and introspection.
The juicy fruit is tossed, and before I pile the mixture into the pie crust, I like to toss a handful of the oat crumble into the pie filling. This will help for thickening and overall flavor integration. Super serious, right?
Feeling pretty accomplished, I must say.
Piled high with crumble and ready for a foil-lined baking sheet in the oven. The juices might bubble over and it’s best to be prepared.
This pie is fragrant and really… it’s pie so it’s perfect. The ginger and bourbon really shine through. The pears are soft, malleable, and pleasant. Like the most tender apple pie if you’re looking for a comparison.
I like the crunch from pecans though you could leave the pecans out for nut sensitivities. One another note, walnuts would also be a stellar idea.
For optimal enjoyment, let the pie cool to room temperature before enjoying. This might seem counter-intuitive, but the juices need time to settle before the pie is sliced.
Happy baking!
(You could make a drinking game of how many times I used the words ‘juice’ and ‘juices’ in this post. Apologies / cheers.)
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Pear Bourbon Crumble Pie
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time: about 50 minutes
- Total Time: about 2 hours 3 minutes
- Yield: serves 8
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
- 1/4 cup plus 1 to 2 tablespoon cold buttermilk
For the Filling
- 6–7 ripe but firm pears, any variety, peeled and sliced, about 5 cups sliced
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch or instant tapioca
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- pinch freshly grated nutmeg
- pinch of fresh cracked black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons bourbon
- 2 dashes bitters
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Crumble
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- large pinch of salt
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
Instructions
- To make the crust, in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt. Add cold, cubed butter and, using your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture. Quickly break the butter down into the flour mixture, some butter pieces will be the size of oat flakes, some will be the size of peas. Create a well in the mixture and pour in the cold buttermilk. Use a fork to bring to dough together. Try to moisten all of the flour bits. Add a bit more buttermilk if necessary, but you want to mixture to be shaggy and not outwardly wet.
- On a lightly floured work surface, dump out the dough mixture. It will be moist and shaggy. That’s perfect. Gently knead into a disk. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Allowing the dough to rest in the refrigerator will help rechill the butter and distribute the moisture.
- To roll out the pie crust, on a well floured surface, roll the crust 1/8 inch thick and about 12 inches in diameter. Transfer it to a pie pan. Trim the edge almost even with the edge of the pan Fold the edges under and crimp with your fingers or a fork. Cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 3 hours.
- To make the filling, in a medium bowl toss together sliced pears, lemon juice, and granulated sugar. Allow to macerate for 20 minutes. Add brown sugar, cornstarch or tapioca, spices, pepper, salt, bourbon, bitters, and vanilla. Toss to evenly coat the pears in the mixture but try to be gently enough as to not bruise the pears too much.
- To make the crumble, in a medium bowl (yea… we’re using a lot of medium bowls), whisk together flour, oats, sugar, and salt. Add the cold butter chunks and, using your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture. Quickly break the butter down into the mixture until well incorporated. Some butter bits will be the size of peas, and smaller. Add the pecans and toss to combine.
To Assemble the Pie
- Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Remove the pie crust from the refrigerator. Toss a handful (about 1/2 cup) of the topping mixture into the pear mixture, toss. Dump the fruit mixture into the pie crust. Top generously with topping mixture. Place on the prepared baking sheet and place in the oven. It’s important to use the middle rack because if the pie is too close to the top of the oven, the pecans will burn quickly.
- Bake for 20 minutes then reduce the heat to 375 and bake for another 30 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.
- Remove from the oven and cool for 3 hours before serving. This will allow the juices to thicken and rest.
- Serve in generous slices with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Notes
You can make the crust gluten-free using this recipe here.
Feel free to also use gluten-free oats and a GF 1-for-1 flour blend for the crumble.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
45 Responses
I have made this pie every year since 2015 for Thanksgiving. It’s always the first pie gone. I typically do half pears and half apples and I make extra crumble.
That sounds delicious!
The flavors in this pie were good, but I found it way too sweet. I would definitely cut back the sugar substantially the next time.
Looks delicious but BEWARE of the spice level! It’s quite spice-heavy and the bourbon really loses potency to become almost unnoticeable, esp on the second day. The lemon was also very strong… maybe I had a really large lemon but it was too tangy and overpowered the pear flavor. I wish recipes would use measured quantities rather than measuring by the item (one lemon, two potatoes, etc) because there’s just too much variation in size. Doesn’t matter as much in cooking but in baking, er…. yeah! Really nice crust recipe though! I was weirded out by using buttermilk in a crust but it worked really nicely.
Made this for Thanksgiving and it was delicious! Thanks for the winner.
I love pears only if they are in desserts, so I need to try this ASAP!
https://justsem.wordpress.com/
This recipe + your comments = amazing. I can’t wait to try it. I’m planning on making it for Thanksgiving (we’re straying a bit from the classics). It’s my first time cooking/hosting Thanksgiving so I’m nervous about timing everything correctly. Would you recommend making it in the morning before the turkey? Or making it the night before? (Will it keep well in the fridge overnight?) Thanks! (I also made your pumpkin bread, yum).
Looks delish! I always forget about pears, but they really can be sooo tasty.
That crumble though! So pretty!
I’m an apple fanatic, like LOTS of opinions, but I do love pears too. Here’s my issue that I wonder if others have a suggestion on – pears always turn a little too sweet for me, but I have a hard time getting the lemon juice:flour/thickener ratio right so that I don’t end up with a puddle or the GBBO dreaded “soggy bottom.” Any ideas?
I made this pie today and it tasted delicious, I must have had really juicy pears because the juice did not thicken up. It really wasn’t an attractive pie with all the juice oozing everywhere. I did allow it to cool for the complete time hoping the juice would thicken up. I loved the flavor and will make it again, but next time I think I will increase the flour and see it is less juicy.
Update: I made this pie. I’m so glad I did. The bourbon really sends the flavors over the top! It changed my life. Thank you for sharing this pie recipe, Joy.
Ohh this looks absolutely divine. There’s not much better than a warm pie with bourbon and pears!
g.
All I have to say is: “Oh hell yes!”
xx Hannah // http://www.HomemadeBanana.com
sounds wonderful. Do bitters expire? My Peychaud are probably 35 years old??!!
Not that I know of.
Bourbon makes everything better! The Four and Twenty book is on my wishlist – it just moved up the queue!
Joy, I love you and your bourbony baked goods. :) It’s been a rough pregnancy keeping up with your blog (haha). Only another month or so to go, and then…I shall bake!! Anyhow, thank you for sharing you!
PS – I know the alcohol content likely bakes off, but no need to introduce the temptation!
Does anyone have a preferred bourbon. It can have some many fruity and flavorful notes, but I cannot remember what I used before. I don’t really drink it.
If I wanted to do this in a double crust form, should I compensate anything to make the filling thicker? Or will it be fine? Love you, Joy!
i think you could just double the crust recipe and you’ll be good to go!
Looks great!! Apples get so much attention this time of year. It is time we turn our attention to the pears. No shame in that. I might even be inspired to make an all butter pie crust after this read.
This pie looks so delicious and would be perfect for my weekend ??
summerdaisy.net
I am completely intimidated by making my own pie crust but Joy I can’t help but try now after seeing this gorgeous pie. Wish me luck! If I use the butter crust pie recipe in your Homemade Decadence cookbook is it pretty much the same recipe as the one on your site?
This pie sounds utterly delightful! And you’re right – other fruit like pears need love this time of year :)
Joy, I’m just a little concerned about the apple paranoia!!!! I have faith in you, but are you sure you are getting out enough. Heehee. Thank u 4 all u do.
Goddddd this looks amazing! Think I just got inspired to make this on Sunday. I have some cozy fall-inspired baked goods on my blog, including croissant bread pudding with lemon sauce and the best-ever-can’t-miss pumpkin cookies!
Joy! How did you know I fell asleep thinking about pie last night? This bourbon pear crumble pie has jumped to the top of my weekend to-do list.
This sounds delicious. I’m always looking for a new pear dessert for Thanksgiving. I see in the recipe that for the crumble you have listed granulated sugar but you mention that you use brown sugar. Thank you.
My mistake, yes brown sugar
Down with apples! Every fall I’m seriously disappointed that there aren’t more pear desserts. I am absolutely entranced with the idea of making this pie. It’s gonna be good.
This is my kind of pie! I love pears and sometimes, you just have to go non-traditional and leave the apples out.
I’m loving the idea of the bourbon and pear combo! This looks so yummy, I’m glad you gave pears some attention, they’re sadly overlooked so often. ;)
Hi there. I just signed up for your emails yesterday and this is the first one I received. Already pinned it and I am making out my grocery list to include the ingredients for this lovely looking pie. This will be my first attempt at homemade pie crust. Wish me luck!
Oh, Dear Friend, I must make this. I’m glad pears are getting the recognition they deserve. Does anyone have a specific type of bitters they would recommend for this beautiful pie????
I definitely don’t bake enough with pears. I NEED THIS! So bad. Omg.
I made this same pie from the Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book a few weeks ago! Seriously though, how delicious is it?! We all LOVED it.
I adore how you animate foods in your kitchen. It elevates this blog for me beyond just another recipe blog to foodie entertainment in the best, most professional way. Keep on keeping on!
Thanks for this perfect post, Joy. I opened up your site to look for an apple pie recipe and here is this. :) well, I already sliced the apples and made the pie crust, so I am still headed in the apple pie direction, but the idea do adding the crumble into the filling just made my head explode, in the best possible way. I can’t wait for my husband to enjoy this birthday pie! Thanks!
I’m thrilled to the gills you used pears here! I have 2 pears trees in my backyard that produced over 3 bushels of pears. And even though there are many people willing to take them off my hands, I need some good recipes to put em to use! Thanks. And I’m new to cooking with bourbon but so far so good. http://www.raiseyourgarden.com
Pears are (at least to me) equal to apples in fall baking. So yes a pear pie is a must in this time of the year. I adore this crumble. The pecans in it are a perfect extra, I love it!
Beautiful! A fabulous way to highlight understated pears! They really are the most beautiful fruit.
Oh this looks delicious. And perfect! Nice pears btw, haven’t seen them in that color before I think. Anyhow thanks for the nice recipe :)
I can’t imagine a better crumble pie and as I recently started baking again I must try out the recipe this weekend! Thanks for sharing.
xx from Bavaria/Germany, Rena
http://www.dressedwithsoul.com
So, this pie has been on my to bake list since I got the Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book a couple of weeks ago (yes, I’m a little late to the party), but I just haven’t gotten around it. With all the “juice” and the “juices,” though, you convinced me to put it on my calendar, literally. Next weekend, me and those pears are having a date :) (I just have a couple of apples to use first… I don’t think I could ignore their nagging like you can)