A richly spiced, fresh pear pie in the French style with a heavenly cinnamon oatmeal streusel topping. Ginger gives this homemade pear pie recipe a wonderful warmth and spice.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, oatmeal, salt, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger and baking powder. Mix to combine.
Add the cubes of butter and cut them into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter, or with your clean fingers. To do this with your fingers, rub and crumble the butter into the dry ingredients until they're roughly the size of small peas and everything is well combined, but crumbly.
Refrigerate the streusel until ready to bake the pie.
FOR THE PEAR PIE:
Preheat the oven to 425°.
In a small bowl combine the sugar
Peel the pears and slice them in half. Use a melon baller to remove the core and a paring knife to trim away the stem and end stigma. Slice the pears into 1/4" slices.
Add the lemon zest, candied ginger (if using), brandy, vanilla and lemon extract and toss to combine.
Add the sugar, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger and baking powder to a small bowl and mix to combine. Pour the spice mixture over the pears and toss until well combined, but being careful not to break the pears.
Roll the pie pastry into a 13" round and transfer to the pie plate. (Pro-tip: roll the pastry between two sheets of parchment paper, so it doesn't stick to the counter and you're not adding more flour, which can make the pastry tough.
Arrange the pie crust in the bottom of the pie plate. Fold the overhang bits under to create a double wide edge and flute or crimp the pastry edges decoratively.
Transfer the pear filling to the crust and spread it evenly with a spatula. Top with the streusel.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with tin foil or parchment paper (to catch any drips). Place the pie on the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
Reduce the oven temperature to 375°.
Bake the pie for an additional 45-50 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest until cooled to room temperature.