Pear Crunch Pie

Devil's Food Cake Murder

## Ingredient

* *The Crust*
	+ one 9-inch deep-dish pie shell, unbaked***\*\*\****
		- ***If you’re pressed for time, you can buy a frozen one at your grocery store.***
* *The Topping*
	+ 1 cup all-purpose flour ***(Scoop it up in a measuring cup and level it off with a table knife.)***
	+ 1/2 cup brown sugar ***(pack it down in the measuring cup)***
	+ 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
	+ 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg ***(freshly grated is best, but only use 1/8 teaspoon)\*\*\*\****
		- ***Unlike some herbs and spices, freshly grated nutmeg is stronger than dried.***
	+ 1/2 cup salted butter ***(1 stick, 4 ounces, 1/4 pound)*** cut into small pieces
	+ 1/2 cup chopped pecans ***(measure after chopping)***
* *The Filling*
	+ one large ***(20 and 1/2 ounces)*** pear halves in syrup OR juice
	+ one small ***(8 and 1/2 ounces)*** pear halves in syrup OR juice
	+ 1/4 cup white ***(granulated)*** sugar
	+ 2 Tablespoons ***(1/8 cup)*** cornstarch
	+ 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg ***(half that amount if you use freshly grated)***
	+ 1/8 teaspoon salt
	+ 1 and 1/2 cups pear liquid ***(if you don’t have enough, fill in with water)***
	+ 1 Tablespoon salted butter ***(that’s 1/8 of a stick)***
	+ 1 teaspoon lemon juice ***(freshly squeezed is best)***

## Directions

* Preheat oven to 425 degrees F., ***(that’s a very hot oven,)*** rack in the middle position.
* You’re going to make the topping first, and that’s easy. In a small bowl ***(or a food processor with the steel blade)*** combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
* If you’re doing this by hand, use your fingers or 2 knives and cut the butter into the flour until it looks like cornmeal. ***(If you’re using a food processor, use the steel blade and process with an on-and-off motion until the resulting mixture looks like cornmeal.)***
* Mix in the chopped pecans by hand and set aside on the counter.
* Drain the pear halves, but DON’T THROW AWAY THE JUICE. You’ll use it later.
* Dry the pear halves thoroughly on paper towels.
* On a COLD BURNER, combine the sugar, cornstarch, nutmeg, and salt in a medium-size saucepan. Stir them together until they’re thoroughly combined.
* Mix in the pear liquid, stirring it well.
* Turn the burner on MEDIUM HIGH.
* Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture loses its milky appearance and turns clear. This is a little tricky for anyone who’s not used to working with cornstarch. A good rule of thumb is to heat the mixture, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or a heat-resistant spatula until it just barely reaches the boil. Set your timer for 5 minutes and keep stirring the entire time. That guarantees you’ve cooked it long enough.
* When 5 minutes are up, remove the saucepan from the heat and move it to a cold burner. Stir in the butter and the lemon juice, and let the filling sit there cooling while you work with the pear halves.
* Arrange the pear halves, rounded side up, in the bottom of your unbaked pie shell. You don’t have to worry about being too artistic, because the pears will be covered with the crunch topping.
* When the pear halves are arranged to your satisfaction, place the pan with the pie shell on a drip pan. ***(I use a cookie sheet with sides.)*** Pour the hot pear pudding you just made over the top of the pear halves as evenly as you can.
* Give the topping you made earlier a final stir with a fork. Then sprinkle it over the tops of the pear halves as evenly as you can. This will form the sweet “crunch” part of Pear Crunch Pie. Rhanna’s recipe calls for a lot of crunch topping, so heap it on and press it down to form a bumpy, golden brown top crust.
* Bake the Pear Crunch Pie at 425 degrees F. for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the topping turns dark golden brown and looks delicious. ***(In this case looks are NOT deceiving—it’s yummy!)***

## Yield

Rhanna’s recipe says you can get 8 pieces from this 9-inch pie, but those people must not be big dessert eaters. I always have to make two pies when I invite the family for dinner. Counting Bethany ***(who’s too little to eat Pear Crunch Pie yet)*** there are only 7 of us!