My grocery store was selling pears for $.69/lb. a few weeks ago and I wanted to find a use for them besides just eating so I tried this recipe for pear pie and it was delicious. Much better than the last pie I ate! My husband was very skeptical as he is a die hard apple pie fan, but he told me that he was pretty sure that he could eat the whole thing in a sitting. I made just a couple modifications from the original recipe.

1 recipe double pie crust

1/2 c. sugar

3 T. flour

1/4 t. salt

1 t. ground cinnamon, heaping

1/4 t. ginger

1/4 t. nutmeg

1/2 t. vanilla

4 c. pears, peeled, chopped, sliced

2 c. apples, peeled, chopped, sliced

1 T. butter

1 T. lemon juice

Preheat oven to 450. Sprinkle prepared fruit with lemon juice to slow the oxidation process. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl. Add sugar mixture and vanilla into fruit, stirring well to cover fruit with the sugar mixture.  Add to pastry lined pie plate. Dot with butter. Top with remaining pie crust, sealing the edges with a bit of water. Flute edges. Cut slits into the top to allow steam to vent.  Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 and bake for 35-40 more minutes or until fruit is tender.