PEAR-CARDAMOM PIE WITH ALMOND CRUST

Pear-Cardamom Pie with Almond Crust image

Categories Dessert Bake Pear Almond Vanilla Fall Bon Appétit

Yield Serves 8

Number Of Ingredients 17

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Ingredients

For crust
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 7-ounce package marzipan or almond paste, coarsely crumbled
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
5 tablespoons chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
5 tablespoons (about) pear nectar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
For filling
1/3 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1 vanilla bean, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
3 pounds firm but ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, halved, cored, cut into 1/2- to 3/4-inch-thick wedges
2 tablespoons pear nectar
1 egg, beaten to blend (for glaze)
1 tablespoon sugar

Steps:

Make crust:
Blend flour, marzipan and salt in processor until marzipan is finely ground. Add butter and shortening and cut in using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix 3 tablespoons pear nectar and almond extract and blend in using on/off turns. Gradually blend in enough pear nectar by tablespoonfuls to form moist clumps. Gather dough into ball. Divide dough into 2 pieces. Flatten each into disk. Wrap each disk in plastic and refrigerate 2 hours. (Dough can be prepared up to 3 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. Soften dough slightly at room temperature before rolling out.)
Make filling:
Grind brown sugar and vanilla bean in processor 1 minute. Add cornstarch and cardamom and process until vanilla bean is almost completely blended. Transfer to large bowl. Add pears and pear nectar; toss to coat.
Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Roll out 1 dough disk between sheets of floured parchment paper to 13-inch round. Peel off top sheet of parchment. Invert dough into 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Peel off top sheet of parchment. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch. Transfer filling to crust. Roll out second dough disk between sheets of floured parchment to 13-inch round. Drape dough over filling. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch. Press edges together to seal; fold under. Crimp edge decoratively.
Gather scraps and reroll between sheets of floured parchment. Cut out leaf shapes using cookie cutter. Arrange atop pie. Brush top of crust (not edge) with glaze. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Cut several slits in top to allow steam to escape during baking. Bake pie 15 minutes. Cover crust edge with foil to prevent over-browning. Continue baking until crust browns and pears are almost tender when pierced with skewer, about 40 minutes. Cool pie on rack at least 1 1/2 hours. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.