Four & Twenty Blackbirds' Junipear Pie

By
Emma Kobolakis
Emma Kobolakis is a contributing writer for Serious Eats.
Emma Kobolakis
Emma Kobolakis is a freelance writer whose foundation lies in food, with a love for baking and desserts.
Learn about Serious Eats' Editorial Process
Updated Apr. 15, 2020
01072014-btb-junipearpie.jpg
Photograph: Gentil & Hyers

If you've never baked with juniper berries before, now is a perfect time to start. The berries themselves are crusted with sugar and citrus zest, combined with slices of pear macerated in lemon and orange juice. The result is a refreshingly fragrant, citrus-tinged pie.

Excerpted from The Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book by Emily and Melissa Elsen (Hachette Book Group). Copyright (c) 2013. Photographs by Gentil & Hyers.

Recipe Facts

3.3

(3)

Active: 60 mins
Total: 2 hrs
Makes: 1 pie

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Ingredients

  • All-Butter Crust (for a 9-inch double-crust pie):
  • 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • 1/4 pound (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1/2 cup cold water
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup ice
  •  
  • For the Filling:
  • 1 lemon
  • 1/2 orange
  • 6 to 7 medium pears (2 1/2 to 3 pounds fresh)
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried juniper berries
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Pinch finely grated lemon zest
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • Egg wash (1 large egg whisked with 1 teaspoon water and a pinch of salt)
  • Demerara sugar, for finishing

Directions

  1. For the Crust: Stir the flour, salt, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the butter pieces and coat with the flour mixture using a bench scraper or spatula.

  2. With a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture, working quickly until mostly pea-size pieces of butter remain (a few larger pieces are okay; be careful not to overblend).

  3. Combine the water, cider vinegar, and ice in a large measuring cup or bowl.

  4. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the ice water mixture over the flour mixture, and mix and cut it in with a bench scraper or spatula until it is fully incorporated.

  5. Add more of the ice water mixture, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, using the bench scraper or your hands (or both) to mix until the dough comes together in a ball, with some dry bits remaining.

  6. Squeeze and pinch with your fingertips to bring all the dough together, sprinkling dry bits with more small drops of the ice water mixture, if necessary, to combine.

  7. Shape the dough into a flat disc, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight, to give the crust time to mellow.

  8. Wrapped tightly, the dough can be refrigerated for 3 days or frozen for 1 month.

  9. For the filling: Have ready and refrigerated one pastry-lined 9-inch pie pan and pastry round or lattice to top.

  10. Juice the lemon and orange into a large bowl, removing any seeds.

  11. Prepare the pears using an apple-peeling machine, or core, peel, and thinly slice them with a sharp knife or on a mandoline until you have about 5 cups sliced.

  12. Dredge the slices in the lemon and orange juice.

  13. Sprinkle lightly with 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar.

  14. Set aside to soften slightly and release some of the juices, 20 to 30 minutes.

  15. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, combine the remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, flour, juniper berries, cinnamon, salt, and lemon zest; process until the juniper berries are chopped and fragrant.

  16. To remove any remaining large pieces of juniper berry, shake the sugar mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl.

  17. Leaving behind any excess juice, transfer the pears to the bowl together with the sugar mixture, add the honey, and toss to combine.

  18. Tightly layer the pears in the prepared pie shell so that there are minimal gaps, mounding them slightly higher in the center.

  19. Arrange the lattice or pastry round on top and crimp as desired.

  20. Chill the pie in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes to set the pastry.

  21. Meanwhile, position the oven racks in the bottom and center positions, place a rimmed baking sheet on the bottom rack, and preheat the oven to 425°F.

  22. Brush the pastry with the egg wash to coat, and sprinkle with the desired amount of demerara sugar. Place the pie on the rimmed baking sheet on the lowest rack of the oven.

  23. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the pastry is set and beginning to brown.

  24. Lower the oven temperature to 375°F, move the pie to the center oven rack, and continue to bake until the pastry is a deep golden brown and the juices are bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes longer. Test the pears with a skewer or sharp knife; they should be tender.

  25. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack, 2 to 3 hours.

  26. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

  27. The pie will keep refrigerated for 3 days or at room temperature for 2 days.

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