One of my favorite things to do is to buy several pounds of in-season fruit and envision a brand new recipe over several days, attempting to bring it to fruition when I'm off work. Last weekend I had pears. First I made a “braided” bread with pear and apple filling. It tasted good, but I wasn't completely impressed, so that went on the back burner in my mind to stew awhile longer. The process of making that did help to clarify what I was seeking, and next I tried making this Pear Pecan Pie.
Never in my life before have I come so close to eating an entire pie by myself. At one sitting.
As soon as this pie cooled down I cut a slice to take my presentation photos. Once I had a few photos snapped I took one bite. And then another. And before I knew it, that slice was gone. It was just too delicious. And then I ate a second slice. I had to stop myself. I had to exercise some self control. I decided this pie was going to work to share with my Premier Taste Testers. By the time the pie got to work the next day there was less than half to share.
Okay, so pecan pie has always been one of my favorite pies. I love pecans [affiliate link]. I love the texture of Pecan Pie filling in my mouth. It is smooth and sweet. Although honestly I have to admit, too sweet. Because it is usually too sweet we make pecan pie very occasionally. It's usually something we'll have with a holiday meal. Before I started eating “real food” we used Karo corn syrup as the sweetener… ewwww… fortunately, honey [affiliate link] works very well as a substitute.
I wanted to make a pear pie, but I was looking for a pecan pie filling texture. So I decided to start with a pecan pie recipe and add in pears. Instead of re-inventing the wheel I went looking for a GAPS legal pecan pie and found Grain-Free, Honey-Sweetened Pecan Pie from Cara at Health Home and Happiness.
My recipe has less honey, less pecans, and of course pears. My crust is the one I used for my Faux Sweet Potato Pie.
Now just a few words about pears before I share the recipe with you. First of all, pears are in the top 10 foods to avoid because of pesticides so buy organic if you can.
In my experience, pears are one of the “iffy” fruits. By that I mean I haven't had a lot of luck finding them perfectly ripe so I end up having to ripen them on my counter top. Sometimes I get lucky and they ripen wonderfully, all juicy and tasty, while other times they end up with a grainy mushy tasteless texture. But I have had my fair share of pears at the deliciously ripe stage, so I'm not afraid to keep trying.
And now for the recipe. I think I will be making this one at Thanksgiving.
Pear Pecan Pie
Makes one 9-1/2″ pie
Crust
- 1-1/2 cups almond flour [affiliate link], packed
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt [affiliate link]
- 1/4 cup Tropical Traditions palm shortening* or butter, room temperature
- ice water
Filling
- 4 pears, peeled, cored and sliced
- 1 cup pecans
- 3 eggs [affiliate link]
- 1 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla [affiliate link]
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 4 tablespoons melted butter
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Measure almond flour by packing tightly into the measuring cup.
- Add to a medium sized bowl with sea salt, and butter.
- Use a fork to mix ingredients together until the dough is in chunks.
- Add ice water, one tablespoon at a time until the dough holds its shape.
- Press into a 9-1/2″ pie pan.
- Peel, core and slice the pears. Add sliced pears into the pie crust.
- Add pecans, spread around evenly.
- Whisk the eggs thoroughly (otherwise you may have bits of cooked egg white floating about in your pie).
- Add honey, vanilla, sea salt and melted butter and whisk together.
- Pour over the pears and pecans.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the pie filling is set. The filling will puff up and may be slightly jiggly when done. As it cools it will deflate.
- Allow to completely cool before slicing. Tastes awesome slightly warm or cold.
- Makes one 9-1/2" pie
- ::Crust
- 1-1/2 cups almond flour, packed
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ cup butter, cold
- ice water
- ::Filling
- 4 pears, peeled, cored and sliced
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 4 tablespoons melted butter
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Measure almond flour by packing tightly into the measuring cup.
- Add to a medium sized bowl with sea salt, and butter.
- Use a fork to mix ingredients together until the dough is in chunks.
- Add ice water, one tablespoon at a time until the dough holds its shape.
- Press into a 9-1/2" pie pan.
- Peel, core and slice the pears. Add sliced pears into the pie crust.
- Add pecans, spread around evenly.
- Whisk the eggs thoroughly (otherwise you may have bits of cooked egg white floating about in your pie).
- Add honey, vanilla, sea salt and melted butter and whisk together.
- Pour over the pears and pecans.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the pie filling is set. The filling will puff up and may be slightly jiggly when done. As it cools it will deflate.
This recipe has been included at Gluten Free Wednesdays!
What is your favorite pie? Please let me know in the comments!
*If you order from Tropical Traditions by clicking on any of my Tropical Traditions links and are a brand new customer, you will receive this free book: Virgin Coconut Oil : How it Has Changed People’s Lives, and How it Can Change Yours, and I will receive a discount coupon for referring you. Thank you!