Pear-Cranberry Pie

I made an apple-cranberry pie a while back, and decided that I wanted to try it with pears.  The recipe is similar but slightly different.  I think that it turned out with a unique flavor that you don't find often in a pie.  (When was the last time you had a pear pie?)

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 pie crust
• Filling
• 1 bag (12 oz.) cranberries
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup tapioca
• 1/3 cup water
• 7 large pears, skinned and thinly sliced
• Topping
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tso salt
• 1/2 cup oats
• 4 tbsp cold butter

Directions

1. Place the pie crust in a 9" round pie plate.  Bake at 425°F for 10 minutes.
2. In a large pot, combine the cranberries, sugar, tapioca, and water.  Bring to a boil and cook until all of the berries have popped.
3. Add in the pear slices.  Simmer until the pears are tender.  Remove from the heat and cool in a bath of ice water.
4. For the topping, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and oats.  Cut in the butter.
5. Pour the fruit filling into the baked pie shell.  You'll have extra, so don't overfill it.  (You can see what happens to an overfilled pie by looking at my pictures)
6. Top with the crumble topping.
7. Bake at 375°F for 45-55 minutes.  Cool completely on a wire rack.