Prize Winning Pear Pot Pie Recipe

Good Food Michigan Personal Pear Pot Pie

Another of Bee's prize winning recipes!!  Lots of baked fruit recipes specify cornstarch or flour to thicken the juices.  Corn flake crumbs can also be used and in the case of pears are the perfect thickener.  Corn flake crumbs are found next to the bread crumbs in the grocery store.

Makes 4

Ingredients
1 tablespoon of Kellogg's corn flake crumbs
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger
2 cups of diced Bartlett pears (cored and peeled)
2 cups of diced d'Anjou pears (cored and peeled)
generous squeeze of juice from an orange; about a tablespoon
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1 egg, well beaten
1/2 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed but cold
4 mini scoops of ice cream4 mint leaves

Instructions
1.  Heat oven to 400 degrees with a 17x12 rimmed sheet pan placed on a middle rack.
2.  In a small bowl, combine the corn flake crumbs, sugars, and ginger.
3.  In a separate larger bowl, toss the pears pieces with the orange juice.  Add the crumb mixture and toss.
4.  Generously grease the bottoms and sides of 4 one-cup ramekins with some of the butter, avoiding the rims.
5.  Divide the fruit mixture evenly into the ramekins.  Dot with the remaining butter.
6.  Brush the rims of the cups with the beaten egg.
7.  To make the lattice tops:  Without unfolding the pastry, cut across the width into 14 one-quarter-inch wide strips.
8.  Carefully unfold the strips.  Cut 8 of the strips in half. 
9.  Center two strips across the top of a cup leaving about a 1/3" gap.
10. Rotate the cup a quarter turn and lay 2 more strips across the top. You may weave the strips over and under if desired in this step and the remaining steps.
11.  Cut the remaining strips into thirds cutting along the fold line.
12.  Lay a short strip to the right of one of the long strips leaving a 1/3" gap.  Rotate the cup a half turn, lay another strip and repeat until 4 short strips are applied. 
13.  Wherever the dough touches the rim of the cup, lightly press down with your fingertips.
14.  Repeat the lattice top steps on the other three pies.
15.  Brush the dough liberally with the egg wash.
16.  Place the cups on the baking sheet pan and bake for 30 minutes.
17.  Cool until the cups can be handled or to room temperature.
18.  Top with ice cream and a mint leaf.