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5 from 1 vote

Pear Cranberry Cobbler

Pear Cranberry Cobbler, perfect Fall Holiday Dessert.
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time50 minutes
Total Time1 hour 50 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8
Author: Angela Roberts

Ingredients

Pie Dough

  • 7 ounces all purpose flour see notes
  • 14 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup iced cold water

Pear Cranberry Filling

  • 12 ounces fresh cranberries
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 teaspoons instant tapioca
  • orange zest from half orange
  • juice of half orange
  • tablespoon triple sec optional
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 6 large pears about 3 pounds
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

  • Prepare Pie Dough and Cobbler Filling. Both should be made in advanced and chilled first. This is perfect to prepare the day before, and then bake the next day. If you want a double crust cobbler, double the pie dough recipe.

Pie Dough Instructions

  • Pulse flours and salt in the bowl of a food processor 2 or 3 times to combine. Chop butter into 1/2-inch cubes and add to flour mixture.
  • Pulse for 1 second about 8 times, until butter is in pieces about the size of large peas.
  • and pulse 3 to 4 times, until dough begins to come together. It may remain in a few large chunks.
  • Place dough on a lightly floured surface and push chunks together. Knead 4 to 5 times, until it holds its shape. Flatten dough into a disk about 1 inch thick. Wrap tightly in parchment paper and let rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Cobbler Filling (which can also be used for a pie or hand pies)

  • Put cranberries, sugar, water, tapioca, cinnamon into a sauce pan with orange juice and zest.
  • Let sit for about 15 minutes.
  • Turn on heat and bring to boil.
  • Cook for about 5 minutes until the cranberries just begin to burst.
  • In the meantime, peel and chop pears.
  • Combine the pears with hot cranberries.
  • Refrigerate for at least one hour until chilled, preferably longer.

Assembly

  • At this point you can make a pie, a tart, hand pies, or a cobbler using these ingredients.
  • To make a cobbler, roll out the dough and using a cookie cutter, cut into large rounds about 4-6 inches in diameter.
  • Place some rounds on bottom of pan. Every inch of bottom does not have to be covered. If you are using a large baking dish, don't put any pie dough on bottom, just put it all on the top.
  • Pour fruit over pie dough.
  • Top with more rounds. You can use a lattice pattern or use a biscuit cutter as I did.
  • Bake at 400 degrees F for 40-50 minutes until golden brown.
  • For hand pies, follow these directions.
  • For a large lattice topped cobbler, follow these directions.
  • For cobbler in a jar, follow these directions.

Notes

Storage
Because pie dough contains no chemical leavener, it stores well wrapped tightly in parchment paper. You can easily double, triple, or even quadruple this dough recipe and store enough for a month’s worth of pies. If you know the shape of the dough you plan to roll later, form it into that shape, about 1 inch thick, before storing to make rolling it later easier. Refrigerator: 4 days. Freezer: 4 months.
Qualities of Good Pie Dough
THE DOUGH: Pie dough should be fairly dry and tough to manipulate. You should see dots of butter throughout the dough. When rolling, the dough should hold together well and not tear or break.
THE PASTRY: Once baked, pie crust should be very flaky. Crust that isn’t in contact with filling should crumble and flake easily. Portions touching filling will be slightly less flaky but should still be dry and crisp.