Sandra Lee-ing a Martha Stewart: Boozy Bartlett Pear Pie

     I love Martha Stewart, she is amazing at everything she tries from modeling to stockbroking, and the woman is a GOD at baking. Yet I wish her stuff came with rating levels, like this is for a beginner crafter to this is for expert bakers only with 10 hours to spare and several special baking utensils. Sadly, I don't have 10 hours to roll out dough and then refrigerate it overnight, then cut into small pieces and then roll it all together and start again. Take this pie for instance, looks amazing. The hearts cut out and pressed in circles to form a top crust. Fresh Bartlett pear peeled, cored and cut into small slices (3 lbs. of them). Frankly, I don't have the patience for such a thing or the time for that. Thus this is my "Sandra Lee-ing A Martha Stewart" for Pear-Raspberry Pie.

My improvements:

-add brandy (Sandra Lee would)

-readymade pie crust (I don't have to time to make it)

- canned pears and frozen raspberries

-change the hearts (cut 48 individual hearts, and place them in circles around the pie crust, WAY ABOVE my pay let alone skill level)

So here is my nouvelle recipe

• 2 readymade pie crusts
  
• ½ cup sugar
  
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  
• ¼ teaspoon salt
  
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  
• 2 cans of pears (slices or cut them yourself)

 

• 1 ½ cups raspberries ( I used frozen)
  
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  
• 1/3 cup brandy
  
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into pieces
  
• 1 egg yolk
  
  
  Directions:
  

1. Trim one pie dough to fit a 9-inch pie dish and trim edges. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
   
2. In a sauce pan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt, and raspberries over low to medium heat till it turns a bit gelatin. In another sauce pan, combine 2 cans of drained pears, brandy and brown sugar over medium heat. Combine the two sauce pans once pears have soaked up the brandy and sugar plus the raspberries are more gelatinous.
   
3. While the filling cools, roll out the second pie crust on a lightly floured surface and use heart cookie cutters to cut large and small hearts. Use scraps to roll out more dough to cut.
   
4.  Once slightly cooled, pour filling into pie pan, then using alternative directions to press the large hearts into the outer rim of the crust. Once full circle is formed, place the small hearts all facing the same direction on the edges.
   
5. Lightly brush egg yolk over crust and then use sugar to sprinkle over the crust afterwards.
   
6. Bake at 400 degrees for roughly 30 minutes.