Apple Pear Pie with A Crumble Topping for PIE DAY!

Hip! Hip! Hooray! Today is Pi(e) Day!!! All things PIE are celebrated today as the date 3.14 marks the beginning of a very famous number called "Pi" (3.141592653).  Bakers every where rejoice as this day of "Pi" gives us all the freedom to create, master and enjoy the delicious existence of PIE.  A group of such bakers (including myself) have gotten together to gather a collection of a variety of recipes which feature and honor PIE for all of you out there that also LOVE and ADORE pie just like we do! A HUGE bundle of gratitude goes out to Terry of Love and Confections for organizing this fantastic group of bakers to come together with all things PIE for this fabulous holiday of all holidays. You are fantastic Terry for orchestrating all of us! Please be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post to see the list of links to all the delicious pies our group has baked up for this very special, special day.

  I choose to bake an Apple Pear Pie with Crumble Topping.  Apples and pears make up the filling along with just enough sugar to sweeten the fruit along with sprinkling of cinnamon and then topped with a tender crumble of butter, sugar and flour. A master piece of a pie.

This particular pie was developed from a vision of mine for the perfect pie.  I wanted it to have a delicate and flaky crust which was then filled with sweet yet slightly tart fruits of apples and pears and then crowned with a lovely tender and crumbly topping.  After combining 3 different recipes together I was able to create my dream of a pie.  Life is good.  Or even better, "life is Pie-LICIOUS"! :-) 

I used Ina Garten's Perfect Pie Crust recipe for my pie crust (which is flaky, delicious and fool proof) and then I used the two recipes below to complete my lovely pie of all pies. I was quite delighted with the end result.

Apple Pear Pie with Crumble Topping

Filling Ingredients - 
(slightly adapted from Taste of Home)
3-4 large baking apples - peeled, cored and sliced
3 large ripe pears - peeled, cored and sliced
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon

Crumble Topping Ingredients - 
(slightly adapted from Bourbon and Boots)
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, cut into cubes

Prepare a single pie crust using a recipe of your choice or even a store-brought crust is fine too.   Line a pie plate with said crust and place in refrigerator while you prepare the filling and topping.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl combine all of the filling ingredients - gently toss together to incorporate fully. Set filling mixture aside as you prepare the crumble topping. 

In a medium bowl combine flour and sugar.  Using 2 knives or a pastry cutter, cut butter cubes into the flour and sugar until the butter is pea sized and uniform.  

Pour filling mixture into prepared pie shell and then carefully spoon topping over the fruit evenly.  Place pie onto a foil lined cookie sheet and bake for 50-60 minutes or until pie is golden brown and filling is bubbly.  If the pie crust edge looks like it is getting too dark, cover the edge with a piece of tin foil.

Cool pie for at least 2 hours before slicing and serving.  A scoop of vanilla ice cream always goes well with this pie. 

Happy Apple Pear Pie with Crumble Topping Baking!

Welcome to Pi(e) Day hosted by Terri from Love and Confections! Pi Day is celebrated every March 14 by math fans around the world - and also bakers and pastry chefs. Pi is an non-repeating, infinite number represented by the Greek letter π, and used to represent the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Today, March 14, 2015, is an extra special Pi Day, because at 9:26:53 AM it creates the "Pi Moment of the Century". The first ten digits of Pi are 3.141592653 (3/14/15, 9:26 AM and 53 seconds). This exact date and time happens once every hundred years - a once in a lifetime moment for most of us. How cool is that? Today, 20 Food Bloggers have gathered and want to celebrate the fun of Pi by creating their own sweet and savory pies to share with you. Hope you have a delicious day!


Enjoy a slice from the Pi(e) Day Bloggers:

• Apple Pear Pie with Crumble Topping from Baking and Creating with Avril
• Apple Rhubarb Strawberry Pie from Food Lust People Love
• Buffalo Chicken Shepherd's Pie from Healthy. Delicious.
• Chocolate Mousse Pie from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Chocolate Silk Pie from Famished Fish, Finicky Shark
• Coconut-Pistachio Pie from The Spiffy Cookie
• Curried Lamb Potpie from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Fresh Strawberry Pie from Taste Cook Sip
• Hillbilly Apple Pie from My Catholic Kitchen
• Kentucky Derby Pie from Kelli's Kitchen
• Mixed Berry Slab Pie from Making Miracles
• Peach-Blueberry Pie from The Redhead Baker
• Salted Honey Pie from girlichef
• Sicilian Ricotta Pie from Cake Duchess
• S'Mores Brownie Pie from Cheese Curd in Paradise
• Strawberry Daiquiri Pie from Love and Confections
• Thin Mint Pie from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Top Secret Derby Pie from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
• Triple Berry Pot Pie from {i love} my disorganized life
• Vegetable Pot Pie from Sew You Think You Can Cook