The Pear Pie

Yum! Wow, I'm not a baked fruit person, but I had an urge to bake today (something about the cooler fall-like weather that we are having this weekend) so I found this recipe on allrecipes.com.

My father-in-law's birthday was today and we had him and my mother-in-law over for lunch. We made some of his favorites, grilled marinated veggies and grilled salmon and baked potatoes and brought out the pie for dessert. Norm was more than a little skeptical about the pie. In his words, "Ew that doesn't sound good." But he was the first to say how good it was! His parents even took the rest of the pie (except for a piece that I saved for Norm and me). This recipe is a keeper!!!

I made some adjustments to the original recipe, per recommendations from the Web site. Here's my adjusted recipe:

PEAR PIE
Source: allrecipes.com (Pear Pie III)
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust
4 pears - peeled, cored and sliced
1/2 cup white sugar (or 1/4 cup splenda blend for baking)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon almond extract
2 eggs, beaten
Dash of ground cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Press the pie pastry into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch pie plate. Flute the edges. Place the pear slices in the pie crust with the small ends toward the center. Layer additional pieces on top, after you've finished the first layer.
3. In a medium bowl, mix the butter and sugars together until smooth, then beat in the eggs one at a time until light and fluffy. Stir in flour and extracts. Pour over the top of the pears.
4. Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, until pears are soft and custard is set in the center. Cool completely before slicing and serving.