Pear and Cranberry Pie

I get these random cravings for pie. It's very weird I know. For some reason an apple pie or lemon meringue pie comes into my mind and I can't stop thinking about it. After Thanksgiving I found an extra pie crust in my fridge and that is when the pie craving started. This recipe was very different, but the idea of bosc pears in a pie sounded fantastic. It really was. The sweetness of the pears along with the tartness of the cranberries really makes this the ultimate holiday pie. I know it really isn't the holidays any more, and cranberries are really hard to find in the store right now, but I just had to share this fantastic recipe. 

Pear and Cranberry Holiday Pie

Better Homes and Garden

Ingredients:

1 pre-made refrigerated pie crust

8 cups sliced red and/or green ripe pears (7-8 pears; 3-3 1/2 lbs)

1 cup fresh cranberries

1/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons apple cider

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons caramel-flavored ice cream topping, plus more for drizzling

Directions:

1. Roll out pie crust into 9-inch pie pan. Preheat oven to 375º.
2. Arrange half of pears in prepared pie pan; sprinkle with 1/2 cup cranberries. Arrange remaining pears atop cranberries. In a small bowl stir together 1/4 cup sugar, cornstarch, cider, and nutmeg; drizzle evenly over pears. Cover pie with foil. 
3. Bake 40 minutes. Remove foil; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake, uncovered, 30-35 minutes more or until pears are tender and juices are bubbly. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack. 
4. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan combine remaining cranberries and 2 tablespoons caramel topping. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat. Speen over hot pie. 
5. Serve warm. Drizzle with additional caramel topping. 

Serves 8