Bourbon Pear Pie with Crumble Topping

“This is the best dessert I’ve ever had”. Actual quote from my dad.

I don’t know that I can disagree. As I was trying to figure out what to make for Thanksgiving this year, I knew I wanted to make something fruit-based (because no one else was, and that’s my jam), and since my mom had about 17 pounds of fresh pears sitting around—and I loooove pears—figured it would be pear-based.

This wasn’t my first pear rodeo—I made a super delish caramel pear pie with oat crumble one year (a bit sweet for me but still soooo good) and one of my go-to recipes is a healthy pear-apple pie with streusel topping.

But I wanted to try a new recipe out, so with that in mind, I pored over my Pinterest dessert board and hit upon this recipe. I knew I had a winner…bourbon pear pie was already going to be amazing, but add that crumble topping and there’s no way it won’t be amazing.

I ended up accidentally making quite a bit more filling and topping than could fit in my pie crust (I should have used the deep-dish pan), so I just poured the extra filling into a small pyrex dish, threw the extra topping on, and baked it as its own little bourbon pear crisp. It was amazing, so if you have extra I highly recommend going that route.

And when you tell people that you’re bringing a bourbon pear pie, they end to get pretty excited…

This is definitely on my list of best Thanksgiving recipes!

Prep your pie crust, but don’t put it in the dish yet (you don’t want it to dry out).

To make the filling, toss together the sliced pears, lemon juice, and granulated sugar in a large bowl. Allow to sit and macerate for around 20 minutes (yes, this step is important, don’t skimp).

Add the brown sugar, flour, spices, pepper, salt, bourbon, 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. Taste to make sure the mixture has the right balance.

Make the crumble by whisking together the flour, oats, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the cold butter chunks and, using your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture quickly, until the butter bits are the size of peas or smaller. Add the chopped pecans and toss to combine.

Preheat the oven to 400 F and put your rack in the center of the oven.

Toss a handful of the crumble topping mixture into the pear mixture (it just helps soak up and thicken the juice a bit, and adds an interesting texture).

Put your pie crust into the pie pan and crimp the edges. Then pour the fruit mixture into the pie crust. Top generously with the crumble topping.

Bake for 20 minutes then reduce the heat to 375 and bake for another 30 minutes until golden brown and bubbling. You may want to put a baking sheet (lined with foil) underneath it in case the fruit bubbles over, to prevent a mess.

Remove from the oven and cool for 3 hours before serving (allows the juices to thicken and set). You can definitely make this the day before, sitting overnight won’t hurt it at all (just cover with plastic wrap so the pie crust doesn’t dry out).

Other pies you’ll love:

Original recipe from Joy the Baker

Yield: 1 pie

This juicy, spiced, sweet bourbon pear pie with crumble topping is insanely delicious and perfect for the holidays...it's become a Thanksgiving staple in my family!

Ingredients

FOR THE FILLING
6-7 ripe pears, any variety, sliced (about 5 cups sliced)
The juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
2/3 cup of lightly-packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon of allspice
1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of ground cardamom
Pinch freshly of grated nutmeg
Pinch of fresh cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
3 tablespoons of bourbon (or enough so, according to my sister, "you can taste the alcohol)
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
FOR THE CRUMBLE
3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
3/4 cup of old-fashioned oats
2/3 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
Large pinch of salt
6 tablespoons of cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
1/2 cup of coarsely chopped pecans
Pie crust of your choice

Instructions

Prep your pie crust, but don't put it in the dish yet (you don't want it to dry out)
To make the filling, toss together the sliced pears, lemon juice, and granulated sugar in a large bowl. Allow to sit and macerate for around 20 minutes (yes, this step is important, don't skimp).
Add the brown sugar, flour, spices, pepper, salt, bourbon, 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. Taste to make sure the mixture has the right balance.
Make the crumble by whisking together the flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the cold butter chunks and, using your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture quickly, until the butter bits are the size of peas or smaller. Add the chopped pecans and toss to combine.
Preheat the oven to 400 F and put your rack in the center of the oven.
Toss a handful of the crumble topping mixture into the pear mixture (it just helps soak up and thicken the juice a bit, and adds an interesting texture).
Put your pie crust into the pie pan and crimp the edges. Then pour the fruit mixture into the pie crust. Top generously with the crumble topping.
Bake for 20 minutes then reduce the heat to 375 and bake for another 30 minutes until golden brown and bubbling. You may want to put a baking sheet (lined with foil) underneath it in case the fruit bubbles over, to prevent a mess.
Remove from the oven and cool for at least 3 hours before serving (allows the juices to thicken and set).

Notes

This could be made gluten-free fairly easily, by substituting oat flour, almond flour, etc. and using a gluten-free pie crust
This is a perfect pie to make the night before serving, as having time to set allows the juices to thicken up nicely