To my way of thinking, Harry and David, purveyors of gourmet foods, have almost single-handedly rendered pears one of the most sought after gifts of the holiday season. And it has something to do, not only with the glorious fruits themselves, but with the way they single out one pear in each box to carefully wrapped in golden tissue. So, while I appreciate the purity of a raw pear, I still like mine baked up in a pie well beyond the holidays. Yet, patience is not one of my virtues, and fruit pies can take an hour or more to bake. So, in my version, the crust is pre-baked and the pears precooked stovetop so that the assembled pie bakes in the blink of an eye: a mere 15 minutes. Plus, my coconut oil-based pie crust is so flaky and delicious you almost don’t need the filling. But only almost. The pear filling is set off perfectly with a fresh ginger streusel and pairs beautifully with my Cinnamon Stick-Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (recipe below). As an added bonus, the pie bakes in the blink of an eye because the pears are pre-cooked for a few minutes stovetop.
Ginger-Streusel Pear Pie [Vegan]
What Ingredients Do You Need To Make Ginger-Streusel Pear Pie [Vegan]
- 2 cups whole-wheat flour
- 1/2 cup non-hydrogenated coconut oil (semi-solid at room temperature)
- 14 tablespoons of iced water (place a few cubes of ice in a small bowl and fill with water)
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 3 large ripe pears, sliced
- 2 tablespoons natural sugar
- 4 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- 6 tablespoons canola oil
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
How To Make Ginger-Streusel Pear Pie [Vegan]
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
- Combine the flour and coconut oil in a food processor and pulse a few times until the coconut oil is evenly distributed and the dough looks like coarse sand.
- Add water, 2 tablespoons at a time, pulsing a few times after each, until the dough comes together. It should be slightly moist, but not sticky. You may not need the full amount of water.
- Gather the dough together in a ball. Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin and roll the dough out.
- Gently lift and transfer it into your pie pan, trimming around the rim with a sharp knife and crimping the edges.
- Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until slightly golden. Remove from the oven and press down any area on the crust that might have risen.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the pears and saute, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until slightly softened.
- Reduce the heat if necessary to keep the pears from sticking or cooking too quickly.
- Remove the pan from the heat and let the pears cool 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stir in the sugar and flour until well distributed.
- In a medium bowl, use a fork to stir together both flours, the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
- Drizzle in the oil and incorporate well.
- Stir in the pecans.
- Spread the filling evenly into the crust and crumble the streusel evenly over the top.
- Bake for 15 minutes, or until the pears are easily pierced with a sharp knife.
- If the pie begins to brown too quickly, cover with foil, shiny side up.
- Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for at least an hour before serving.
About The Author
Betsy DiJulio: Blogger, The Blooming Platter
See My RecipesBetsy DiJulio, a vegan blogger, freelance writer, and food stylist, Betsy DiJulio is the author of The Blooming Platter Cookbook: A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes (Vegan Heritage Press, 2011) and writes the “Green Scene” column for Hampton Roads Magazine, among other regional and national freelance gigs. A lifetime cooking enthusiast, Betsy has worked as a caterer, taught private cooking classes, and won national recipe competitions. See Betsy’s website at The Blooming Platter.
Thanks for the ginger streusel pear pie recipe. This seems like a great way to mix things up from the normal apple pies.