Since fresh pears are easy to come by right now, how about turning them into a pie?
Ever made one of those? If so, you may be in the market for a new version to add to your repertoire.
If not, here’s your chance, thanks to Marysville cook and longtime Forum friend Dianne Berst. When she sent along recipes for other fruit pies, she thoughtfully tossed in the following pear specialty.
Next, we have a people-pleasing (expandable, too) berry or fruit cobbler shared by Catherine Holt of Snohomish.
“This recipe was given to me about 50 years ago by a friend,” she writes. “The original was for strawberries, but we decided we like strawberries raw in more traditional desserts. So, instead, we made it with the abundant blackberries.
“This version is still very popular with my grandchildren and great-grands. I usually double the recipe and use a 9-by-13-inch pan. I last made it for a family reunion in a 10 1/2-by-14 1/2-inch pan, and tripled the recipe.
“I used a gallon of frozen blackberries and a few fresh ones, as the berries in my area were not ripe enough. At the reunion, the teenagers descended on it, so some of the older ones only got a sniff.”
Catherine adds, “”I enjoy your column and have intended to send recipes, so now maybe I will send others that are very old.”
Yes, Catherine, please do. Meanwhile, we can gobble cobbler.
But first, the pie recipe:
Fall pear pie
8 cups thinly sliced, peeled pears
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup quick-cooking tapioca
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Pastry for 9-inch, double-crust pie
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup whipping cream (optional)
In a large bowl, combine pears, sugar, tapioca and nutmeg; let stand for 15 minutes. Line a 9-inch pie plate with bottom crust; add pear mixture. Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pie. Place over filling; seal and flute edges. Cut large slits in top; brush with egg. Bake at 375 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes or until the pears are tender. Cool on a wire rack. If desired, pour cream through slits. Store pie in the refrigerator.
Makes 8 servings.
Catherine Holt’s batter berry or fruit cobbler
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups fresh blackberries or fruit (more, if pan is deep)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2-3/4 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons butter
Cream plain or whipped or ice cream
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease well the bottom and sides of an 8- or 9-inch baking pan. In mixing bowl, thoroughly cream together the shortening and 1/2 cup sugar. Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder; add to the shortening mixture with the milk and vanilla. Blend well and spread in prepared pan. Top batter with the blackberries or fruit and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Pour boiling water over all and dot with the butter. Bake 25 minutes. The batter will rise through the berries or fruit and liquid and should brown nicely.
(Catherine says, “If I’m not sure the batter is fully cooked, I test with a toothpick in the center.”)
Serve the cobbler warm or cool with cream plain or whipped or ice cream.
Makes one 8- or 9-inch pan.
Note: When fresh berries or fruit are not available, Catherine says, “”I use frozen and/or canned berries or fruit then there is usually no need for the boiling water. Drain the thawed or canned berries or fruit and heat the juice to boiling. A little water may be needed.”
This recipe can be doubled or tripled successfully, if desired, and baked in a larger pan.
The Forum is always happy to receive your contributions and requests, so don’t hesitate to send them to Judyrae Kruse at the Forum, c/o The Herald, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206. Please remember that all letters and all e-mail must include a name, complete address with ZIP code and telephone number with area code. No exceptions and sorry, but no response to e-mail by return e-mail; send to kruse@heraldnet.com.
The next Forum will appear in Wednesday’s Food section.
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