Refrigerated pie crust (Recipe: rum raisin pear pie)

When I turned 40, which was oh-so-many years ago, I made my first two-crust pie.

Well, honestly, it was my first any-crust pie.

And it wasn't even my crust. It was refrigerated pie crust, from the supermarket.

I couldn't have been more proud if I'd made the crust from scratch.

Which I never, for a single minute, considered doing.

I love the taste, texture and convenience of ready-to-roll pie crusts. I love that they're pre-sized for a standard nine-inch pie pan or ten-inch tart pan.

I love that you can freeze the crusts for up to two months, and then take them out of the box and let them stand at room temperature for an hour, and you're ready to make pie, or to cut them into smaller shapes for calzones, empanadas, or topping for a casserole.

Refrigerated pie crust does have a down side; it contains saturated fat that comes from partially hydrogenated lard (which gives it the "mouth feel" of old-fashioned crusts made with shortening) as well as food dyes, to which some people are allergic.

However, for those of us who are baking challenged, a package of refrigerated pie crust in the pantry puts dishes like honey pumpkin pie, cranberry apple pie, savory plum tomato and basil pesto pie, Mexican calzones, chicken pot pie and chicken pot pie empanadas within reach.

Rum raisin pear pie

An updated classic. Serves 8.

Ingredients

1 package refrigerated pie crust, left at room temperature for 20 minutes
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup dark rum (or 1/2 cup water + 1 tsp pure vanilla extract)
7-8 large firm pears, such as bosc, ripe but not overripe
Juice of half a lemon
1/2 cup sugar
1-1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
Egg wash (1 egg  beaten with 1 Tbsp water)

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°F. 

Place the raisins and rum (or water and vanilla) in a small sauce pan, and cook over low heat for 30 minutes. Strain the raisins, discard the liquid, and set aside. 

Press one pie crust into a 9-inch pie pan. Peel, core, and thinly slice the pears, and toss in a large bowl with the lemon juice. In a separate bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and cornstarch, and stir into the pears and raisins. Spoon the fruit mixture into the bottom crust, and dot generously with the butter. Paint the edge of the crust with a bit of the egg wash, or with water, and place the top crust over the pears. Press down lightly, and crimp the edges (make sure there's a good seal). Using a sharp knife, make a small hole in the top of the pie and also make 4-6 slits in the top crust.

Using a pastry or paint brush, brush the top crust with egg wash. Let it sit for one minute, and brush on a second coat. Place pie on the middle rack of the oven and bake 40-45 minutes.  Pears should be tender and the crust a deep golden brown. (Note: If the crust is becoming too brown during baking, cover the edges with an aluminum foil "collar.") Let cool on a rack for 20-30 minutes, or preferably for several hours, before slicing, to allow the juices to set. Serve at room temperature.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Old-fashioned apple pie
Pumpkin pie
Sweet potato pie
Chocolate outrageous pie
Empanaditas

Comments

Some people may swear by their own pie crust recipes - and, indeed, they are delightful - but who has that time? These are so amazing. So handy. Even for dumplings... can't go wrong. (Well... technically, you could, but it takes effort)

I really need to follow your example and give away some cookbooks but but but but ... I can't bring myself to do it. It's pathological. I'm trying trying trying to let your example inspire me.

I also am addicted to cookbooks, not to mention cookbook giveaways! lol

I also use bought pie crust pastry, life is too short etc, etc, LOL. My favourite pie has to be at the end of summer when the apples are fresh from the tree and my fingers are stained with blackberry juice. There is nothing like it after a productive day with lashings of steamy hot custarfd of course. Margaret,

Oh! I hope this is open to us in the UK>

what a coincidence I just bought two pie pans -- and at the time I admit to wondering what exactly did I think I was going to do with them - thanks for (once again) a terrific recipe.

My first apple pie was from the Fine Cooking magazine and it was really easy. The result looked just like the photo and tasted perfect! but i haven't had as much success as commercial frozen pie crust here in Oz.

I often wish the bottom crust were not soggy or gummy. My sister just gave me an antique pie pan with this stamped into the bottom: New England Flaky Crust Pie - Table Talk 10 cent deposit. It has 8 tiny holes in the bottom. I guess this allows heat to get to the bottom crust. Or come to think of it, maybe it's to allow steam to escape. I've only tried it once so far. Not bad. I'll keep trying. I'm with you on store-bought pie crust!

I failed Pie Crust 101 many years ago, actually my baking skills need to be perfected. There are a couple of versions of Fudge Pie that I am pretty good at. Guess what? One of them is crustless and comes
from a thirty year plus Southern Living Cookbook called Party. My children and husband love it served hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Co-workers favor the other version with crust from Paula Dean. Sidenote: You are my hero, getting rid of cookbooks. I wish I could, but I am still in the collecting mode!

Lydia - one of my favorite ice-cream flavors is rum raisin and I think with the pears this makes a d'lish pie. I am looking forward to your dessert week!

My first pie-crust attempt was also my first pie-attempt and consisted of a veganized Pear Frangipane Tart with a pâte sablée tart crust. I was 20 and making it for a friend's birthday. Suffice it to say that after three imperfect crusts (too dry, oddly salty, too little), a failed frangipane and pears that took forever to poach, I finally got it right and took it to the party... where no one really understood the Herculean effort represented by that pie! Since then, I've stuck to graham cracker crusts for all my pies.

I love an old fashioned apple pie, or peach. I am especially happy if there is some crunchy turbinado sugar on the crust.
Dorie Greenspan cured me of my pie crust worries - her good for almost everything pies crust is... good for almost everthing!
Rum raisin and pear sounds like a unique and grown up pie, delish!

I will sometimes make a pie crust from scratch but have to say that the ready made ones are great. I often use them to make a quick quiche or for little tarts made in those mini muffin pans.

Favorite Pie: Coconut Cream YUM!

i definitely prefer homemade pie crust for my favourite apple pie.

I love Pecan Pie! I am a Georgia Girl (here 11 years, originally from NY) and I think I moved here just for Pecan Pie, which I only eat, about once every 5 years, because my behind will NOT allow it!
I love your Blog, and thank you for this giveaway!

My mission has been to perfect the art of the lemon meringue pie. I always say "I'm almost there, except for the crust." I remember, from my childhood, my mother making pie crust in quantity. She started (I think) with a pound of shortening and made A LOT of pastry from scratch. A couple of times, I've had the pastry in the freezer. It makes making a pie so much less of a production. Oh, for her recipe!

Ooo, a rum raisin pie... I'll definitely be trying this one sometime soon.

I'm more of a cake girl rather than a pie girl. But I do pretty much love anything with Blackberries....I could definitely do a blackberry pie!

I've been in a baking mode these days... currently, I'm making dog biscuits. The dogs never complain about anything I make. *s*

How nice of you to give away cookbooks! I am not great at pies, so it's something I could definitely stand to learn more about. I'd say my favorite has to be chocolate cream pie or chocolate pecan pie (in other words, the chocolate is more important than the pie!). And am I allowed to say that my favorite baking book is my own cookbook, Sweet Freedom (which will be published this May--whoo!)?

Wish me luck!!!

Not so great at pies, but can bake most anything. My wife makes the best apple pies from the granny smiths off of our trees when in season.

I've only ever dared make the pies that are explained on the back of the pie filling can. And of course I also purchase the ready to use pie crust. But this year I am determined to try some real pie recipies . . . but I'll probably stick to the refrigerator pie crust for at least another year. No telling what 2010 will bring!

I'm surprised no one has mentioned making pie crust in a food processor -- a short zap and you've got it. Then freeze the extras for crust on demand. Actually, I gave up on crust long ago, because of the soggy factor and the nutrition element. Something on top for the crunch works.
Cookbooks! always a temptation, especially since my husband finds them hard to resist. Many are wonderful books, super bargains or free from our recycling shed in town. We just bought another bookcase to help consolidate -- they're too scattered, getting better.

You are inspiring me to go grab a refrigerated crust. I haven't made a quiche yet with the beautiful quiche pan my hubby bought me for Christmas because I haven't gotten around to rolling one out yet!

I've tried the refrigerated ones and to be honest, I don't care for the taste or texture. There are lots of good recipes for crusts, but the plain old Crisco one seems to come out best for me. The trick is to put your Crisco and flour in the freezer or refrigerator until they get real cold. Don't overwork the dough, and you'll come out with a perfectly flaky crust that will be the envy of your neighbors :)

I have the cookbook you sent me, it's so wonderful and that pie..yum. I am a horrible pie crust maker too...I think pie crust can smell fear and then it misbehaves.

Why waste the juice from cooking raisins and rum--it might make a good hot drink with some tea on a chilly winter afternoon.

i tend to not bake.. i think it's to restrictive.

Melissa, thanks for the crust-making tips!

Bev, great idea -- a toddy in the making!

My favourite pie is huckleberry. I make my own crust. My grandma taught me when I was a kid - half butter, half lard, which turns out a little less flaky than a crust made with shortening (still tender, just a bit less flaky) but tastes so much better.

I slaved over my first pie, apple, made the crust even picked the apples myself. Then it came time to bake. I had no clue how to tell when it was done so I put the digital thermometer probe in and started baking. Well 2 hours later the darn thing wasn't anywhere near hot (yes I turned the oven on, I checked, twice:-} the pie dish was hot but the thermometer was still reading warm. Perhaps I should have made sure the thermometer was reading in fahrenheit not celsius, doh! The pie was soup in a hollow burnt crust. Yuck

I absolutely love pears. We have two pears trees in our backyard and I'm always looking for recipes to use the harvest in the Fall. I've been giving tons of pears to my neighbors, made lots of pear butter as christmas gifts, but I'm thinking that a pear pie is a better gift to celebrate the harvest. Thanks for posting the recipe, Melissa!

My favourite baking book is the Cake Bible. I tried a couple of recipes and was really impressed with the results.

Thanks for posting another cookbook giveaway - love the idea of reusing/sharing books with folks.

Rum raisin pear pie...Yum. Not original but truly conveys my tastebud's imagination. I also have had great success with refrigerated pie crust. Having tried making my own crusts which usually shrunk away from sides of pie dish or were soggy in the bottom, refrigerated is just more fail proof.

And it's the lard that makes those refrigerated pie crusts taste good. I wish I had access to the unprocessed lard my mom used to make pie crusts. Those were sooo good.

I have never and will never make my own pie crust. However, I make a great pecan pie. My secret is the same as yours.

Pillsbury Pie Crust has saved my family(and my sanity) from my disasterous trials of making my own crust. I'm going to try the pie, I think it sounds very yummy, just have to convince my husband that you can actually put pears, rather than apples,in a pie.

Pecan pie would have to be one of my favorite pies. I've been trying to make my own pie crusts, but sometimes the premade stuff is just so much more convient.

I love apple pie...especially with a really good crumb topping, like a Dutch Apple or Apple Streusel. I think I'm capable of making my own pie crust but I'm with you on the store versions being a good substitute. I'd rather make my own bread, where the difference is more evident.

When I was first learning to cook, one of the first things I made was apple pie with a crust from scratch. It was the best crust I ever had, but I forgot to write the recipe down.
I love cookbook giveaways. I'm also giving away copies of my new cookbook. Come on over for a chance to win. :)

Mmm, pie!

And "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" is amazing! They were made for my earth-friendly fashion show I put together last year, and no one knew they were vegan until they were told and all loved them!

A few months ago I faced my fears over making bread from scratch and amazingly it was edible. Pie crust scares me more..

haha! I use the refrigderated pie crust too sometimes... I was really craving a quiche yesterday and it was so nice to just pull some crust out of the freezer... I'm looking forward to Baked Goods Week! :)

I love pumpkin pie! Well, I love all pies, but pumpkin is absolutely my favorite.

I have used those pie crusts in a box too. They are pretty good. I love to make those cinnamon twists with them. So good. Never made a rum raisin pie though. Hands down a fav pie of mine is an apple pie with cheddar cheese crust. YUM

I love baking, and do so often, but rolling out dough scares me. Thus I don't make pies, or any cookies which require cookie cutters. I did try each once, and hated the results, so I've stayed away from such recipes ever since!

My favorite pie is a fresh apricot pie, can't wait for June, which is feeling pretty far away today.

The truth is, my favorite pie is the one in front of me. Well, not entirely true...don't LOVE rhubarb or mincemeat but pretty much everything else is my favorite.
I've found a recipe with boiling water which makes an easy, flaky pie crust. Darn, I only have two pears today...I guess I have to go out in the rain to buy more. This looks yummy.

Ummm, pie!!

I confess, I use the pre-made dough quite often though I'm perfectly able to make a good homemade dough. The Crisco recipe is the one I use.

I'm trying to build up my own little cookbook collection, and I'm sure any one of these would be a great addition. My favorite is not exactly pie, but...blueberry tart. Mmmm!

My favorite pie is pumpkin. I eat it for breakfast the day after Thanksgiving.
I love to bake, but I have to confess that I also use refrigerated pie crusts. I'm not thrilled about the lard and hydrogenated fat, but then I don't make pie often... One problem, though is that my son is a vegetarian, so no lard in his pie crust, please. I told him he was welcome to make a butter crust for the pumpkin pie last Thanksgiving, which he did (he is a great cook & bread baker), however, the crust didn't hold together well, and was very difficult to work with. In the end, it came out ok, but the pies made with packaged crust were much prettier. They all tasted great!