Double-Crusted Apple Pear Pie

By Hklbrries

This pie has the good grace to be blissfully do-aheadable: it goes straight from the freezer to the oven, making freshly baked pie a possibility even at the busiest times.

Storing: Most pies are best the day they're made, but you can freeze this one - assembled but not baked - for up to 2 months. Construct the pie (minus the milk-and-sugar glaze), freeze it uncovered, then wrap it airtight. There's no need to defrost the pie before baking it.

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Freezables:

I don't think I'd been cooking for more than six months when I had one of those eureka moments. I'd spent an entire day racing across New York City shopping for food and the next whole day cooking it, only to have my houseful of guests go gaga over the simplest dish of the night: a big, buttery Bundt cake.

I'd seen it before and I've seen it since, but it was that evening, more than 30 years ago, when I realized what was at play and how primal it was. No matter how much I'd fussed over dinner and no matter how good dinner was, the offering of a homemade dessert trumped it all—and it always would. We never get over the idea that dessert is a reward and that a dessert that's homemade is a sign of affection.

Of course there's no time better than the holidays to have homemade sweets on hand—no time busier, either. But, happily, lots of sweets can be baked early, stowed in the freezer, and pulled out at party time, their taste, texture, good looks, and power to delight completely intact. Here's how to get it right—plus a few no-fail recipes for bake-and-freeze desserts.

Begin with butter
Pound cakes, tight-grained loaf cakes, sturdy Bundts, brownies, cookies—all the butter-based sweets—freeze best.

Freeze pies raw
Fruit pies make fine freezables, but you should get them into the freezer right after they're assembled. Then, pull out and bake.

Don't freeze creams
Meringues, puddings, custards, creams, mousses, and whips don't freeze well—some break down, some weep, and they all lose their lovely textures in the defrosting process.

Cool first, freeze second
A sweet isn't really finished until it's cooled—cooling is what sets the texture and gives the flavors time to blend.

Pack it airtight
Oxygen is what causes freezer burn. There are fancy freezer containers on the market, but old-school twist-tied plastic bags or plastic wrap is most effective. Because the seal should be snug, draw together the top of the bag, then suck out as much air as possible before shutting it tight with a twist tie.

Label everything
Put the name of your goody on the bag (mystery cakes are as frustrating as mystery meat), and mark the date that you made it.

Defrost slowly
It's best to put the frozen dessert—still in its wrapping—in the refrigerator to defrost overnight, then bring it to room temperature before serving. If you're in a rush, go directly from freezer to counter. Never defrost frozen desserts in the microwave. That's a sure-fire way to cook or melt them.

Don't be smug
You're bound to feel like a genius, a hero, a magician—even a saint—when, after pulling out all the stops for dinner, you also pull out a homemade dessert. Try not to crow.

Dorie Greenspan is an award-winning cookbook author, including Baking: From My Home to Yours (Houghton Mifflin, 2006).

Ingredients

• Crust:
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 sticks (10 ounces) frozen unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces
• 1/3 cup frozen vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces
• 1/2 About 1/2 cup ice water
• Filling:
• 2 pounds apples, such as Fuji, Granny Smith, or Golden Delicious
• 2 pounds firm-but-ripe pears, such as Anjou or Bartlett
• 1 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp quick-cooking tapioca
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp dry bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into little pieces
• Milk or heavy cream (optional)
• Decorating or granulated sugar (optional)

Details

Servings 8

Preparation

Step 1

Using a large-capacity food processor fitted with a metal blade, make the dough for both crusts. If you don't have one, divide the recipe in half and make the dough in 2 batches.

Put the flour, sugar, and salt into the fod-processor bowl; pulse to blend. Add the butter and shortening and pulse just to cut them up - don't be thorough; you want big pea-size pieces and small oatmeal-size pieces. Little by little, add 6 tablespoons of the ice water, pulsing the machine on and off. After the last bit of water is added, give the machine about a dozen long pulses - if the dough doesn't form soft curds and clumps, pulse in additional water.

Scrape out the dough, gather it together, divide it in half, and shape each half into a ball. Flatten the balls into disks, cover each with plastic wrap, and chill for at least 1 hour. Butter a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate and have it at the ready.

Lightly flour a rolling surface. Then, working with 1 disk of dough at a time, roll each into a circle about 1/8-inch thick. Transfer one of the circles to a foil-lined baking sheet, cover it with plastic wrap, and stow it in the fridge; this will be the top crust. Fit the second circle of dough into the pie plate. Cover the crust and chill it, too, while you make the filling.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 425 F. Peel and core the apples and pears and cut them either into slices about 1/4-inch thick or into chunks about 1/2 inch on a side. Put the apples, pears, raisins and nuts into a large bowl and add the sugar, lemon zest, tapioca, cinnamon and salt. Toss to mix.

Put the pie plate on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper and sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly over the bottom of the crust. Spoon in the filling and dot the top of the fruit with bits of butter.

Moisten the edge of the bottom crust with a little water and put the top crust over the fruit, centering it. Press the top crust against the edge of the bottom crust and, using scissors, cut the crusts so they extend just over the edge of the pie plate. Press the 2 crusts together with the tines of a fork.

Using scissors or a paring knife, cut 6 slashes in the top of the pie and a small circle in the center - this will be a steam hole. If you want, brush the crust with a little milk or cream and sprinkle with sugar.

Slide the baking sheet into the oven and bake the pie for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 375 F and bake for 50 to 60 minutes more, or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling up through the slits.

Transfer the pie to a cooling rack and let it rest until it is only just warm or comes to room temperature.

Nutrition Information:
Per serving
1102 calories (can that be right?!)
8 g protein
110 g carbohydrates
9 g fiber
74 g fat (41 g saturated)
160 mg cholesterol
324 mg sodium