Pear Pie with Juniper and Honey

Pears, honey and a little ground juniper make this a welcome change from apple pie on the holiday table. Pick up firm, ripe pears at the market while they're in season.

Ingredients

For the all-butter crust (make 2 batches: one for the bottom, one for the top)

• 1¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1½ teaspoons granulated sugar
• ½ cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
• ½ cup cold water
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• ½ cup ice

For the filling

• 1 lemon
• ½ orange
• 6 to 7 medium pears (2½ to 3 pounds)
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1½ teaspoons dried juniper berries
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• Pinch of finely grated lemon zest
• ¼ cup honey
• 1 large egg whisked with 1 teaspoon water and a pinch of salt, for egg wash
• Demerara sugar, for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Make the crust: Stir the flour, salt and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the butter and toss to coat, then cut it in with a pastry blender until most of the pieces are the size of peas. A few larger bits are fine, but don't overwork it.
2. Mix the water, vinegar and ice in a measuring cup. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons over the flour mixture and work it in with a bench scraper or spatula. Keep adding 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time until the dough forms a ball with a few dry bits left, then squeeze and pinch it together, adding a few more drops of water to any dry spots.
3. Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap it and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight. (It keeps 3 days in the fridge or 1 month in the freezer.) Roll one disk out to line a 9-inch pie pan and roll the other into a round or cut it into lattice strips. Keep both chilled.
4. Make the filling: Squeeze the lemon and orange into a large bowl and pick out any seeds. Peel, core and thinly slice the pears until you have about 5 cups. Toss the slices in the juice, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the sugar and let them sit for 20 to 30 minutes to soften and release some juice.
5. In a food processor, pulse the remaining ½ cup sugar with the flour, juniper berries, cinnamon, salt and lemon zest until the juniper is finely chopped and fragrant. Shake the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl to catch any big pieces of juniper.
6. Lift the pears out of their juice and add them to the sugar mixture along with the honey. Toss to coat. Layer the slices snugly in the crust, leaving as few gaps as you can and mounding them slightly in the center.
7. Cover with the top crust or lattice and crimp the edges. Chill the pie for 10 to 15 minutes to firm up the pastry.
8. Meanwhile, set racks in the center and lowest positions of the oven, place a rimmed baking sheet on the bottom rack and heat the oven to 425°F. Brush the pastry with egg wash and sprinkle with demerara sugar.
9. Set the pie on the hot baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the pastry is set and starting to brown. Lower the heat to 375°F, move the pie to the center rack and bake 30 to 35 minutes more, until the crust is deep golden, the juices are bubbling and a skewer slides easily into the pears.
10. Let the pie cool completely on a rack, 2 to 3 hours. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Tips

• An apple peeler-corer makes quick work of the pears, or use a mandoline for even slices.
• The pie keeps for 2 days at room temperature or 3 days in the refrigerator.

Adapted from The Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book.