Caramel Pear Pie, a delicious non-traditional pie that will have you saying- move over apples- I want some pears!
Caramel Pear Pie is sooo delicious!
Paired with a flakey crust and topped with extra caramel- this caramel pear pie is something you want to make right away!
Pear pie doesn’t get enough attention- and that needs to change ASAP. I love all types of pears and figured why not make a pie out of them!
I have shared a handful of pies with you all and this one is one of my favorites.
For more pie recipes check out:
- Creamy Pumpkin Pie
- Chocolate Pumpkin Pie
- Chocolate Silk Pie
- Sweet Potato Pie
- Apple Crisp Pie
- Mini Apple Pies
This pie is really simple to make and comes out great every time!
How do you make pear pie from scratch?
- Mix together the peeled, cored, and sliced pears with the sugar, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
- Cook pears over medium-high heat for 15-20 minutes.
- Add to your prepared pie crust.
- Mix together caramel sauce and lemon juice and pour over pears
- Top pie with your top pie crust and then bake!
What kind of pears are best for pies?
I have found a firm pear is really what you want which is why I really like the Bosc pears. Regardless of the type of pears, do make sure they aren’t too ripe or mushy. You don’t want a mushy pie.
Bosc Pears are my favorite for this pie!
How long do you cook a pear pie?
This pear pie recipe takes a total of 50 minutes to bake (at two different temperatures).
Why prebake the pears on the stove top?
I precook the pears in a pot on the stove for ~15 minutes to removes some of the juice so the pie isn’t watery and doesn’t make the crust soggy.
Pie Crust- from scratch or store-bought?
Both are fine and will get the job done. Homemade from scratch pie dough will be tastier and way more flakey- but no judgement here for using store bought! I use it too sometimes!
Making pie dough from scratch is actually really simple.
Flaky Crust is really simple to make from scratch!
How to make pie dough from scratch?
- Combine flour, sugar and salt.
- Toss large chunks of butter in the flour and then smash each chunk with your thumb and index finger.
- Add water and stir to form a dough- while still keeping the butter as chunky as possible.
- Chill for 10 minutes
- Roll dough out into a rectangle, fold the short sides in to the center, then the long sides together to form a book. Cut in half and refrigerate for another 10 minutes.
- Roll one half of the dough into a circle, lay in your pie dish and gently push the dough into the corners, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hrs
- Roll the other half into a large rectangle, cover and refrigerate for at least 2.5 hrs. (Use this second piece to make the strips for the top)
This recipe for crust makes 2 bottom pieces or one top and one bottom piece- you choose!
Watch how I make pie dough here:
Key takeaways for flakey pie dough:
- Keep the dough (and butter) cold
- Keep the butter chunks large
- Don’t be afraid of using extra flour for dusting and rolling out the dough
Golden brown top with a delicious pear filling! Yum!
What kind of caramel sauce do I use for the pie?
You can use homemade caramel sauce or store-bought. This pie was originally made with Torani caramel sauce but I recently made it with homemade and it was just as good (maybe even better?!)
Watch how to make homemade caramel sauce below and get the full instructions here!
If you like this recipe make sure to check out some of my other dessert recipes!
- Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Buttercream,
- Homemade 3-layer Chocolate Cake
- S’mores Brownies
- German Chocolate Cake
- Lemon Bars
Don't forget to pin this recipe!
Watch how to make this recipe!
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Caramel Pear Pie
Ingredients
Flakey pie crust:
- 1 ⅔ cups flour – plus more for dusting lots more
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tbs sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup cold water
Caramel pear filling:
- 10 large Bosc Pears peeled cored, and diced (I like to use firm pears)
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- Pinch of salt
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup Caramel Sauce plus more for drizzling
- 1 tbs lemon juice
- 1 egg white
- 1 tbs corn starch optional- most likely not needed- see notes *
Instructions
Make Homemade Pie Crust
- Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt.
- Cut butter into large cubes. Emphasis on large. I recommend cutting each stick into four chunks and then each chunk into four more chunks. Then place the butter chunks in the flour mixture and toss to coat with flour.
- Once tossed, smash each chunk of butter between your fingertips. Smash each flat, then move on to the next chunk. You don’t need to cutting the butter in or anything else because you want the butter to stay in large chunks.
- Once each chunk is smashed, using a spatula stir in the water. Stir the dough until it forms a sticky ball. You will need to use the side of the bowl to bring the dough together.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead a few more times to finish bringing the dough together. Place the dough back into the bowl and refrigerate for 10 minutes- you want to keep the dough cold and the butter from melting.
- Roll out the dough on the floured surface (adding more when needed), into a large rectangle (roughly 12x10 inches). Make sure to flip the dough, add more flour if sticking and don’t hesitate to put it back in the fridge if the butter starts melting and sticking.
- Fold the 10-inch sides to the center of the rectangle then fold the other ends together like closing a book. Cut in half and then refrigerate both halves for 10 minutes.
- Bring out one piece of dough and roll into a circle large enough to fit your pie plate. Place in your pie plate, pressing into the corners, and then cut the extra dough that hangs over the edge using scissors. Dust off any extra flour.
- Cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to relax for at least 2 hours in the fridge or overnight.
- Take the second piece of dough and roll out into a large rectangle. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hrs.
How to make caramel pear pie:
- Adjust oven rack to the lowest position in the oven and preheat oven to 425°F.
- In a large pot add the peeled, cored, and sliced pears, the white sugar, brown sugar, pinch of salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir to mix well.
- Precook the pears over medium high heat, covered for 15-20 minutes until the pears are easily pierced with a fork. Stirring occasionally. The pears will release a lot of juice during this time and that is what you want.
- Once done cooking, place all pears and juice in a lined baking sheet and let cool to room temperature (about 30 minutes).
- Once at room temperature drain the pears and place in your prepared pie crust (after it has rested).
- Combine caramel sauce and lemon juice in a small bowl and then pour over your pears.
- Remove your rectangle piece of pie dough and cut into strips. Weave a lattice as the top pie crust then press the ends into the bottom pie crust.
- Whisk together the egg white plus 1 teaspoon of water. Then brush that over the entire lattice.
- Place pie on a baking sheet and then bake for 25 minutes. Then reduce the oven temperature to 375° and bake for another 25 minutes. Keep an eye on the crust. If parts start to get dark golden-brown cover those places with foil.
- Once the pie is done baking let it cool on a wire rack for 2 ½-3 hrs.
- When serving drizzle with extra caramel sauce and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Flakey Pie Crust adapted from Serious Eats
Post updated on 7/25/2020
Karen S.
This is a very good recipe. I made two pies today. I used store bought pie crust. The pears I used where Florida sand pears which are known to be “harder” pears. I cooked them for about 20 minutes, let them cool for 30 minutes and assembled the pie. They turned out very good. I will keep this recipe and reuse again. Thank you.
Lisa
Wonderful! Thank you for letting me know!