Let’s celebrate the holidays with a BRAND NEW pie recipe, shall we? After years of creating classics like apple and pumpkin, plus fun, indulgent flavors like deep dish french silk, I wanted to make you another beautiful classic with an ambitious twist.
This incredible pear pie recipe uses diced, juicy pears, a wonderfully deep flavor from bourbon and vanilla, and a drizzle of salted caramel. You’ll then add a crunchy, pecan dutch crumble topping and bake it to golden perfection. OMG. If you love a sweet and salty flavor combination like I do, this pie is for you.
This salted caramel pear pie is a labor of love (be sure to read my tips carefully!), but it will be 100% worth it when you see your loved ones take their first bite.
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Everything you’ll need to make the perfect pear pie
Gather up those fresh pears, cozy spices, and a few special ingredients to make this beautiful pie:
- For the crust: feel free to use your favorite store-bought crust or make my easy, all-butter homemade pie crust!
- Pears: I recommend using slightly ripe Bosc or Bartlett pears for this pie.
- Sugar: we’re using a mix of dark brown sugar and white granulated sugar in the filling. You’ll also use brown sugar for the crumble topping.
- Flavor boosters: both vanilla extract and bourbon add a lovely depth of flavor to the filling. Trust me on the bourbon!
- Thickeners: we’re also adding a little all-purpose flour and cornstarch to the filling to help it thicken up properly.
- Spices: get that cozy flavor from cinnamon, ground ginger, cardamom, and allspice.
- For the crumble: that dutch crumble topping is made with a little more all-purpose flour, brown sugar, chopped pecans, and melted salted butter.
- For the salted caramel: use your favorite store-bought or homemade salted caramel! I used Smucker’s brand and it was perfect.
Can I make it gluten-free or dairy-free?
- To make gluten-free: unfortunately, I don’t have a gluten-free substitution for the pie crust, but if you have a favorite gluten-free pie crust recipe, you can use that! Then feel free to use gluten-free all-purpose flour in the pie filling and crumble topping.
- To make dairy-free: use a dairy-free butter in the pie crust (or a dairy-free store-bought pie crust) and in the crumble topping, and then use a dairy-free caramel in the filling. We love Myoko’s dairy free butter!
Can I leave the bourbon out?
Absolutely! Feel free to omit it or sub a different whiskey, brandy, or even scotch!
Tips for baking this pear pie
These are all included in the instructions, but I wanted to emphasize a few key tips to ensure that your pie comes out beautifully!
- Prep your pears. Be sure to use just slightly ripe pears, because overly ripe ones will become mushy in the pie. You’ll want to peel them and dice them into equal 1/2-inch pieces so they all cook down the same.
- Scoop the filling. After making the pear filling, scoop the pears into the pie crust with a slotted spoon instead of dumping the bowl into the crust. Otherwise, there will be too much liquid in your pie filling.
- Bake on a baking sheet. I recommend placing your pie pan on top of a preheated baking sheet to bake the pie — that way, the baking sheet will catch any spills that might bubble up. You’ll actually preheat the oven with the baking sheet in it, which will help bake the bottom of the pie!
- COOL before cutting. This is essential! Let the pie cool at room temp for 4 hours before cutting into it so that it sets. The longer it cools, the easier it will be to serve!
Do I need to pre-bake the crust?
Nope! Instead of doing a “blind bake,” where you bake the crust before adding the filling and baking again, you’ll add the pear pie filling straight to your shaped, unbaked crust after it has chilled in the refrigerator.
Make this pie ahead of time
If you’re prepping this for the holidays or a special occasion, feel free to bake this pie 1 to 2 days ahead of time. It will hold up well at room temperature, then after a few days, it should be transferred to the fridge for optimal freshness.
Alternatively, you can make my Perfect All Butter Pie Crust up to 1 week ahead of time and keep it in your fridge, or up to 3 months in your freezer.
How to store & freeze pear pie
- To store: after baking, you can keep the pie covered at room temperature for up to 2-3 days, then it’s best to transfer to the fridge and store for up to 3 extra days.
- To freeze: you can freeze caramel pear pie after baking by wrapping the pie tightly with aluminum foil and placing it in a heavy freezer bag. Pie can be frozen for up to 3 months. Once ready to eat, defrost the pie in the fridge and then reheat at 350 degrees F for 20-30 minutes or until warm.
My best pie-baking tools
- If making your own crust: food processor & rolling pin
- Mixing bowls
- Slotted spoon
- Pie dish
- Baking sheet
- Pie server
Get all of my kitchen essentials here!
More holiday desserts you’ll love
- Tony’s Very Favorite Dutch Apple Pie
- The Best Tart Cherry Pie You’ll Ever Eat
- Salted Brown Butter Pumpkin Oatmeal Cream Pies with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Filling
- Cinnamon Walnut Pear Crisp
- Marbled Pumpkin Snacking Cake (gluten free!)
Get all of my delicious dessert recipes here, and my pie recipes here!
I hope you love this salted caramel pear pie recipe! If you make it, be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Bourbon Salted Caramel Pear Pie
Ingredients
- Crust
- 1 recipe for homemade pie crust*
- Filling
- 6 to 8 slightly ripe Bosc or Bartlett pears (3 ½ pounds), peeled and diced into ½ inch pieces
- ¼ cup (53g) packed dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon bourbon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- Crumble
- 1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (107g) brown sugar
- ½ cup (57g) roughly chopped raw chopped pecans
- 5 tablespoons (71g) salted butter, melted
- Salted caramel
- ½ cup salted caramel (from the jar), plus extra for serving
Instructions
- Make the pie crust: Make the pie dough and shape the crust in a pie pan ahead of time, then store covered in the fridge so that it is cold. You can follow my recipe for an all butter flaky pie crust, use your favorite recipe, or a store-bought crust.
- Preheat the oven: Place a large sheet pan in the oven on the middle rack. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. (The pie pan will eventually go on top of the sheet pan to catch anything that may leak over, and will help cook the bottom of the pie crust.)
- Make the filling: In a large bowl, add the pears, brown sugar, granulated sugar, bourbon, vanilla extract, flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and allspice. Use your hands to toss until the pears are well-coated. Allow the mixture to sit for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Make the dutch crumble topping: in a medium bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar and pecans. Add in the melted butter and stir together with a fork until it begins to form into crumbles and resembles clumps of wet sand. You may need to use your hands/fingers to form into big crumbs. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until ready to use.
- Assemble the pie: Remove pie pan with the pie crust from the refrigerator. Use a slotted spoon to spoon the pear filling evenly into the crust, allowing any extra pear juice to remain in the bowl. Add ½ cup salted caramel all over the pear filling, then evenly top with the crumble.
- Bake: Transfer the pie to the baking sheet in the oven then bake for 50 to 65 minutes or until the filling is very bubbly and the crumble is golden brown. Check the pie after 30 minutes to make sure the crust isn’t burning. If it is getting too golden brown, simply cover pie edges with foil or pie shield.
- Cool and serve: Allow pie to cool on a wire rack for at least 4 hours before cutting into (this is annoying, but if you cut into it before then the pie filling won't be set). The longer the pie rests, the easier it is to serve! Serves 9. Great with vanilla bean ice cream and extra warm salted caramel drizzled on top. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
Made this for Thanksgiving and it was such a hit it was requested for Christmas too!
Love that!!