PREP TIME: 15 min.

COOK TIME: 40-45 min.

What did I during the 40-45 minutes of cook time? A LOT.

After putting the custard pie into the oven and setting the timer, I cleaned up the kitchen, gathered laundry piles, sorted laundry piles and then put a load of laundry in the washer. I ran upstairs, checked my email, glanced at my phone, wrote 2 emails, read my horoscope, checked my online bank statement, sent a silly text message, checked my email again and ran downstairs. I proceeded to squeeze my cats, then I picked up a rogue sock off the floor, placed that sock in the hamper, grabbed a glass of water, glanced at the timer, checked out my eyebrows in the mirror, got the mail and then ran back into the kitchen. I laid a nice tea towel down in preparation for the pie, grabbed a few forks, and realized there was an entire surface of counter that I missed in my cleaning up process and then I waited.

The pie came out of the oven and I stared at it impatiently. I went into my kitchen cabinet and grabbed some confectioner’s sugar, brought it over to the sink to load up my little strainer and proceeded to spill some sugar all over myself and the counter (I always do this!). I dusted the top with confectioner’s sugar then I dove into the pie and totally messed up the first slice. Oh well. I stood on a chair to take a few shots then I almost fell but luckily I braced myself. I stepped down from the chair and quickly ate the messed up slice. Realizing that my husband would want some, I scooped out a slice and walked over to him happily sharing what I just made.

Not only was this pie a perfectly comforting treat on a chilly afternoon, it was so light and fluffy with just the right amount of sweetness. The pears were incredibly tender!  I heard his fork hit the plate a few times and then I heard a slight thud of the plate on the table. I looked over to see that he had stopped. He looked at me apologetically because he didn’t want to finish. Then I remembered that he doesn’t like custard based desserts. Sad trombone. How could I possibly be mad when the prep time was so short? Look at all I accomplished during that cook time.  I guess that means more for me, right? At least he ate two bites.

And we’re off!

Ingredient gathering! This is it. Crazy, huh?

Peel, core & slice the pears. Layer them on a buttered pie plate.

In a blender mix all the custard ingredients and BLEND til smooth.

Pour the custard base over the pears.

Now the custard pie is ready to go into the oven.

After about 45 minutes it looks like this! And now it’s ready for its sugar shower!

Pear Custard Pie meets confectioner’s sugar. In real life I call it powdered sugar.

Get in that pie!

And yeah…the first few slices are not the prettiest but who cares?? They taste great.

Pear Custard Pie

serves 6

(recipe from Everyday Food: Great Food Fast)

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted plus more for the pie dish
• 3 ripe but firm Comice or Bartlett pears, peeled, halved and cored
• 1/3 cup  sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• confectioner’s sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350F; butter a 9 inch pie dish. Slice the pears 1/4 inch thick lengthwise. Arrange the slices, overlapping slices, in the dish.

In a blender, process the melted butter, sugar, flour, vanilla extract, eggs, milk and salt until smooth.

Pour the batter over the pears; bake until golden and firm to the touch, 40 to 45 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature, dusting with confectioner’s sugar.

Shutterbean Notes:

-I used Comice pears for this

-I think an addition of almond extract would be SUPER in this.

-If you want to be fancy, serve with a cinnamon ice cream. Yum!