16 TB (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1-inch pieces
Juice of ½ lemon
½ cup ice water
Filling:
3 pears, peeled, cored and sliced
4 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 cup fresh cranberries (frozen okay)
½ cup brown sugar
2 TB cornstarch
Zest of one orange
For the pie:
1 tsp. each flour and sugar
2 tsp. butter
1 egg beaten
1 tsp. Turbinado sugar
Instructions
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt for the crust and whisk together.
Place bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Remove the bowl from the freezer and add the cold, cubed butter.
Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs and there are still visible pea-sized pieces of butter.
Combine the lemon juice and ice water. Slowly add the liquids to the butter-flour mixture one tablespoon at a time and stir with a fork until the dough begins to come together.
Gather the dough up into a ball and knead it against the sides of the bowl a few times until it holds together but do not overwork it.
Divide the dough in half and form into two disks, 1-inch thick.
Wrap disks in plastic and chill for at least an hour. (Can make dough up to 3 days in advance.)
After dough is chilled, roll out the first disk, which will be the bottom of the pie.
To roll out the pie crust, place the disk on a well-floured board or silicone rolling mat such as a Roul'Pat. Flour your rolling pin.
Start in the center and roll out in each direction. Turn the dough every few strokes and flip it over from time to time as well to prevent sticking. Have your pie plate nearby so you can gauge when you have the correct size. You want the crust to be a bit bigger than the plate.
Lightly coat the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate with melted butter.
Use a pastry scraper to peel the crust off your board or mat, roll it up carefully and transfer to pie plate.
Unroll and fit crust into bottom of pie plate. Trim edges as necessary but make sure that crust covers the edge of the pie plate. Use excess dough to patch any cracks or bare spots.
Chill the dough in the pie plate 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the filling and preheat the oven to 425.
To make the filling, toss apple and pear slices with cranberries and orange zest,
Combine brown sugar with cornstarch in a small bowl and add it to the fruit.
Remove second disk of dough from refrigerator and roll it out according to above method.
Sprinkle the top of the bottom crust with a teaspoon each of flour and granulated sugar to prevent it from getting soggy.
Pour filling into pie pan, pressing down to make sure that it is well-packed, and make a mound in the center. (If the bowl with the fruit has excess liquid in it, do not add it to the pie plate.)
Dot top of filling with butter.
Carefully place top crust on top of filling and pinch edges of the top and bottom crusts together. Use your fingers to create a nice, fluted edge. Cut three or four tear-shaped holes in center of top crust to act as a vent.
Brush the top of the pie with the beaten egg. Sprinkle the top with Turbinado sugar if desired.
Bake at 425 for 25 minutes.
After 25 minutes, reduce heat to 375. It is a good idea, at this point to cover the edges of the crust with tin foil or use a pie crust shield to prevent them from burning.
Bake pie at 375 for 30-35 minutes until crust is deep golden.
Cool on a rack before slicing.
Recipe by West of the Loop at https://www.westoftheloop.com/2014/01/23/winter-fruit-pie-national-pie-day/