There’s no telling how many slices of apple pie are eaten every November and December. Change things up a bit (while still respecting tradition) with a pear-cranberry-vanilla fruit filling. Apple pie gets all the glory in the realm of fruit pies, but pears really shine here. And cranberries break out of their predictable position as a side dish.
Pear-Cranberry-Vanilla Pie
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Flaky Pie Dough
- ⅔ cup Granulated sugar
- 3 tbsp. Ground instant (such as Minute) tapioca
- ¼ tsp. Ground nutmeg
- 1 Vanilla bean
- 2 ½ lb. Bartlett or Anjou pears, peeled, cored, and sliced into wedges
- 2 cups Fresh or frozen cranberries
- ⅓ cup Pear juice or nectar
- 2 tbsp. Cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 tbsp. Whole milk
- 1 tbsp. Coarse sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°. Line a baking sheet with foil.
- Prepare pie dough according to recipe and rolling directions. Refrigerate pie shell while preparing fruit for filling. Cut second dough into twelve 1-inch-wide lattice strips; refrigerate.
- Stir together granulated sugar, tapioca, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Split vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out seeds with the tip of a paring knife.
- Stir seeds into sugar mixture; toss with pears, cranberries, and pear juice until fruit is well coated. Transfer filling into pie shell. Dot top of pie with butter cubes; return to refrigerator while preparing lattice top.
- Lay six lattice strips vertically across the pie, starting in the center, ½-inch apart. Lay remaining strips diagonally across those on pie. Place pie on prepared baking sheet.
- Trim and crimp dough per photos below. Brush lattice with milk; sprinkle coarse sugar on top.
- Bake pie 50 minutes. If edge of crust is golden, cover with a pie shield and return to oven until filling is bubbly and pears are forktender, 20 minutes more. Remove pie from oven; let cool on a rack at least 2 hours before serving.
Notes
Nutrition Facts
1 servings per container
- Amount Per ServingCalories409
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat
21g
33%
- Saturated Fat 10g 50%
- Cholesterol 35mg 12%
- Sodium 100mg 5%
- Total Carbohydrate
54g
18%
- Dietary Fiber 4g 16%
- Protein 4g 8%
* The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

