Bosc pears are the star of this perfect fall pie, which is topped with beautiful pie-dough cut outs in the shape of fall leaves. The recipe, featured in America’s Test Kitchen’s new cookbook, “The Perfect Pie: Your Ultimate Guide to Classic and Modern Pies, Tarts, Galettes and More (America’s Test Kitchen, $35) feeds a large group, whether it’s a Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas tree-trimming party, and makes enough delectable butterscotch sauce to serve extra spoonfuls with the pie slices.
Pear-Butterscotch Slab Pie
Serves 18 to 24
Ingredients:
2 recipes Slab Pie Dough (recipe follows)
7 pounds ripe, but firm Bosc pears, peeled, halved, cored, and sliced ¼-inch thick
¼ cup sugar
½ teaspoon table salt
¼ cup instant tapioca, ground
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground star anise
2 recipes Butterscotch Sauce (recipe follows), divided
1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Directions:
Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll a dough square into a 16 by 11‑inch rectangle on a floured work surface. Repeat with a second dough square; stack them on the prepared baking sheet, separated by additional sheets of parchment. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until dough is firm but still pliable, about 10 minutes.
Using the parchment as a sling, transfer the chilled dough rectangles to the counter; discard parchment. Spray a second rimmed baking sheet with vegetable oil spray. Starting at the short side of one dough rectangle, loosely roll it around a rolling pin, then gently unroll it over half the long side of the sheet pan, leaving about 2 inches of dough overhanging on three sides. Repeat with second dough rectangle, unrolling it over the empty side of the pan and overlapping the first dough piece by ½ inch.
Ease the dough into the sheet pan, gently lifting the dough edges with one hand while pressing the dough into the pan bottom with your other hand. Brush overlapping edge of dough rectangles with water and press to seal. Trim overhang to ½ inch and tuck it under itself so the folded edge rests on the pan edge. Crimp dough evenly around edge of sheet. Cover loosely with plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, transfer the remaining dough rectangles to your work surface. Using cookie cutters, cut as many shapes from dough rectangles as you can. Reserve dough scraps for another use. Transfer the cutouts to a parchment-lined baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
Adjust oven racks to lower-middle and lowest positions and heat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, toss the pears, sugar and salt together. Let sit, tossing occasionally, until pears release their juices, about 30 minutes.
Working in batches, drain pears thoroughly in colander; transfer the pears to a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk tapioca, cinnamon, cloves and star anise together, then add to pears and toss to combine. Spread pear mixture evenly over the dough-lined baking sheet, then drizzle evenly with 1 cup butterscotch sauce. (Reserve the rest to serve with the pie.) Arrange cutouts evenly over fruit, being careful not to overlap more than two cutouts. Brush cutouts with egg wash.
Place a large sheet of aluminum foil directly on lower rack (to catch any bubbling juices). Place pie on upper rack and bake until crust is deep golden brown and juices are bubbling, 60 to 70 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let pie cool on wire rack until filling has set, about 2 hours. Serve, passing remaining butterscotch sauce separately.
Slab Pie Dough
Makes one 18 by 13-inch single crust
Ingredients:
24 tablespoons (3 sticks) unsalted butter, divided
2¾ cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
½ cup ice water, divided
Directions:
Grate 5 tablespoons butter on large holes of box grater and place in freezer. Cut remaining 19 tablespoons butter into ½-inch cubes.
Pulse 1¾ cups flour, sugar and salt in food processor until combined, 2 pulses. Add cubed butter and process until homogeneous paste forms, 40 to 50 seconds. Using your hands, carefully break paste into 2-inch chunks and redistribute evenly around processor blade. Add remaining 1 cup flour and pulse until mixture is broken into pieces no larger than 1 inch (most pieces will be much smaller), 4 to 5 pulses. Transfer mixture to bowl. Add grated butter and toss until butter pieces are separated and coated with flour.
Sprinkle ¼ cup ice water over mixture. Toss with rubber spatula until mixture is evenly moistened. Sprinkle remaining ¼ cup ice water over mixture and toss to combine. Press dough with spatula until dough sticks together.
Using a spatula, divide dough into two equal portions. Transfer each portion to a sheet of plastic wrap. Working with one portion at a time, draw edges of plastic over dough and press firmly on sides and top to form a compact, fissure-free mass. Wrap in plastic and form into a 5 by 6-inch rectangle. Refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
Let chilled dough sit on counter to soften slightly, about 10 minutes, before rolling. (Wrapped dough can be frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let dough thaw completely on counter before rolling.)
Butterscotch Sauce
Makes about 1½ cups
Ingredients:
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon water
½ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
Heat sugar, corn syrup, butter and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring often, until sugar is fully dissolved, about 2 minutes. Continue to cook, without stirring, until mixture begins to bubble, 1 to 2 minutes. Off heat, carefully stir in cream and vanilla; mixture will bubble and steam. Continue to stir until sauce is smooth. Let cool slightly. (Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks; gently warm in microwave, stirring every 10 seconds, until pourable.)
— From America’s Test Kitchen’s “The Perfect Pie: Your Ultimate Guide to Classic and Modern Pies, Tarts, Galettes, and More” (America’s Test Kitchen, $35)
