Savoring the pie-baking season

Autumn is a fine time to get into the kitchen and bake. As long as you eat your servings of fruits and vegetables every day, who says they can’t be popped into a pastry crust and savored as dessert? Some of the harvest crops make wonderful fillings.

Streusel-topped pear crunch pie is similar to apple pie in flavor and texture and is a great way to present pears, especially Bartletts. It’s full of juicy chunks of ripe pear and topped with streusel made crunchy with buttery oatmeal crumbs and chopped almonds. Make it this month, when pears are at their peak.

Baked apple dumpling pie is a cross between baked apples and apple dumplings. It is baked with a top crust only, which handsomely molds itself around the apples. Golden Delicious apples are recommended because they hold their shape well. To serve, just scoop out the mounds with a large serving spoon and top with a vanilla sauce.

Golden yam pie with honey-sweetened whipped cream is a hearty finish to a light meal. The filling, which contains no milk, is so dense with baked yams that one slice could qualify as a serving or two of a basic food group. Fragrant with spices and as soft-hued as an autumn sunset, golden yam pie is a welcome change and a good substitute for the pumpkin custard pie that seems to be everywhere this time of year.

Remember, most pies taste best when served warm, but never cut a pie when it’s hot from the oven. The fillings have to let off steam, settle down and thicken as they cool.

Toppings aren’t necessary, but some folks can’t turn down the enhancement of ice cream, whipped cream or a slice of cheese on a fruit pie.

Coffee isn’t an option. It’s a necessity.

Streusel-topped pear crunch pie

PIE:

5 cups (about 7) cored, peeled and sliced ripe Bartlett pears

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 9-inch pie shell, unbaked

1 tablespoon butter

STREUSEL TOPPING:

½ cup quick-cooking rolled oats

1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup melted butter

2 teaspoons sugar

1/4 cup chopped almonds

In a medium bowl, combine pears, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon. Set aside to let juices form.

Dump filling into pie shell and dot with butter. Bake in preheated 375-degree oven for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare topping. With a fork, mix oats, flour, melted butter, sugar and almonds until well-combined.

Remove pie from oven, sprinkle topping evenly over pear filling, then return pie to oven and continue baking for one hour. Remove to a rack to cool. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Baked apple dumpling pie

This recipe is adapted from “Apple Pie Perfect: 100 Delicious and Decidedly Different Recipes for America’s Favorite Pie,” by Ken Haedrich (Harvard Common Press).

Pastry for a 2-crust pie

1/4 cup currants

1/4 cup walnut pieces, finely chopped

½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar, divided

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter

1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) raspberry preserves or raspberry syrup

4 Golden Delicious apples

1 egg yolk mixed with 1 teaspoon water (egg wash)

Sugar

Prepare pastry and refrigerate it until firm enough to roll, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine currants, walnuts, 1/4 cup brown sugar and the cinnamon in a small bowl; set aside.

Melt butter over medium heat in an ovenproof skillet or saute pan that is 9 inches across the bottom and 11 to 12 inches across the top. (A cast-iron skillet works well and makes a nice presentation.) Stir in 1/4 cup brown sugar and preserves or syrup. When mixture is bubbling evenly over the surface of the pan, 30 seconds or so, remove pan from heat.

Do not peel apples; the peels will help hold them together. Halve them top to bottom and core each half. (A melon baller does a good job removing the core.) Spoon some of the raisin-walnut mixture into each apple half, compacting it with a finger. Set leftover raisin-walnut mixture aside.

Quickly invert stuffed apple halves and place them cut side down in the skillet. You should be able to get 6 or 7 around the outside and 1 in the center. Finely dice the remaining apple half, if leftover, and scatter the pieces between the apples. Sprinkle the leftover raisin-nut mixture between the apples.

Between two sheets of waxed paper, roll out all of the pastry into a 12-inch circle. After removing the top sheet of paper, invert the pastry over the apples, center it and peel off the other sheet of paper.

Lifting the edge of the pastry, either tuck the edge straight down along the inside of the pan or pinch it to crimp the edge. Poke several large vent holes in the pastry with a paring knife, twisting the knife to enlarge the holes slightly.

Lightly brush pastry with the egg wash and sprinkle the surface with sugar. Place the pie on center oven rack of preheated 400-degree oven and bake it for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake until top crust is golden brown, about another 25 minutes.

Transfer pie to a cooling rack and let cool for at least 30 minutes or to room temperature before serving. Makes 7 servings.

Golden yam pie

3 cups cooked and mashed yams, about 4 large ones (see note)

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon, plus more for garnish

½ teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Pinch cloves

½ teaspoon salt

3 eggs

1 (9-inch) pie shell, unbaked

Whipped cream sweetened with honey

Combine mashed yams, butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt and eggs. Mix well. Spoon into unbaked pie shell. Bake in preheated 400-degree oven for 10 minutes.

Reduce temperature immediately to 350 degrees and continue baking for an additional 35 to 45 minutes, or until filling is set and crust is golden. Cool completely before slicing. Serve with whipped cream flavored with honey and a pinch of cinnamon. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Note: Yams can be baked, peeled and mashed and filling made up to 2 days in advance.