Life

This remix of the traditional caramel-apple pie is perfect for the holiday table. The recipe calls for nutmeg, but other spices — such as cinnamon, clove, allspice or star anise — also would taste great. Or use a spice blend, such as pumpkin pie spice or five-spice powder.

PEAR AND POMEGRANATE CARAMEL PIE

Makes 8 servings

Start to finish: 1 1/2 hours (40 minutes active), plus cooling

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into cubes, chilled, divided

6 tablespoons cold water, divided

2 cups pomegranate juice

1 cup dark brown sugar

3 strips lemon zest (optional)

6 tablespoons cornstarch

4 pounds firm pears, such as d'anjou or Bartlett, slightly underripe, peeled and cored, sliced about 1/4-inch thick

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 egg, lightly beaten

To make the crust:

In a large bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Add the chilled cubed butter. Use your hands or a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour until the butter pieces are slightly smaller than a pea and the mixture resembles cornmeal. Add 2 tablespoons of the water and gently stir the mixture together with your hands or a fork just until the mixture is evenly moist but not sticky. If the mixture is too dry, add more cold water 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.

Alternatively, in a food processor combine the flour and salt. Pulse to mix. Add the chilled cubed butter and pulse until the butter pieces are slightly smaller than a pea and the mixture resembles cornmeal. Add 2 tablespoons of the water and pulse until the mixture is evenly moist but not sticky. If the mixture is too dry, add more cold water 1 tablespoon at a time.

Lay a sheet of plastic wrap on the counter and turn the dough onto it. Push the dough together to form a ball and wrap well in the plastic. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days.

To make the filling:

In a medium saucepan over medium-high, combine the pomegranate juice, brown sugar and lemon zest. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced by half and is very thick, about 20 to 30 minutes.

In a small glass, whisk together the cornstarch with the remaining 4 tablespoons of water. While whisking the pomegranate syrup, slowly pour in the cornstarch mixture. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Remove the syrup from the heat, discard the lemon zest, and cool to room temperature.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Lightly dust the counter with flour. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut in half. Roll out one dough half to about 1/8-inch thickness. Transfer the dough to an 9-inch deep dish pie plate and press it gently into the plate. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the pears, cooled pomegranate mixture, cinnamon and nutmeg. Toss well to combine. Transfer the mixture to the dough-lined pie plate, pressing the fruit down or mounding it as needed to fit.

With a pastry brush, brush the overhanging pie dough lightly with the whisked egg.

If needed, lightly dust the counter with flour. Roll the other dough half out to a thickness of about 1/8-inch. Use cookie cutters or a paring knife to cut 2 or 3 small holes at the center.

Carefully place the rolled crust over the pie, centering the holes over the top center of the pie. Press together the overhanging dough at the sides to seal with the egg.

Trim the overhanging dough to about 1-inch all around the pie and fold the overhang under itself so that it rests on the lip of the pie plate. Decorate the pie edges as desired and lightly brush the entire top and edges with the remaining beaten egg.

Transfer the pie to a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the crust is deep golden brown and the filling is bubbling, about 50 to 55 minutes. Transfer the pie to a cooling rack and cool to room temperature before serving.

If fresh fruit is available, you can substitute it equally for the frozen berries called for in this recipe. Soft berries such as raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and gooseberries will work best for this pie. A purchased pie crust would make this pie even easier.

STREUSEL SPICED BERRY PIE

Makes 8 servings

Start to finish: 1 hour 10 minutes (20 minutes active), plus cooling

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting, divided

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes, chilled, divided

2 tablespoons cold water

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup rolled oats

3 cups frozen mixed berries

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

To make the crust:

In a large bowl, stir together 1 cup of the flour and the salt. Add 1/2 cup of the chilled cubed butter. Use your hands or a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour until the butter pieces are slightly smaller than a pea and the mixture resembles cornmeal. Add the water and gently stir the mixture together with your hands or a fork just until the mixture is moist but not sticky. If the mixture is too dry, add cold water 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.

Alternatively, in a food processor combine 1 cup of the flour and the salt. Pulse to mix. Add 1/2 cup of the chilled cubed butter and pulse until the butter pieces are slightly smaller than a pea and the mixture resembles cornmeal. Add the water and pulse until the mixture is moist but not sticky. If the mixture is too dry, add cold water 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.

Lay a sheet of plastic wrap on the counter and turn the dough onto it. Push the dough together to form a ball and wrap well in the plastic. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days.

To make the filling:

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Lightly dust the counter with flour. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out to about 1/8-inch thickness. Transfer the dough to an 9-inch pie plate and press it gently into the plate.

Trim the overhanging dough to about 1-inch all around the edge. Fold the overhang under itself so that it rests on the lip of the pie plate and decorate the edges as desired. Set aside.

To make the streusel, in a medium bowl, rub together the remaining 3/4 cup flour and 1/2 cup of the remaining butter until the mixture resembles cornmeal. Stir in the brown sugar and oats, then set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the berries, cornstarch, lemon zest and juice, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pie plate. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons of chilled butter into small pieces and sprinkle them over the fruit mixture.

Sprinkle the streusel evenly over surface of pie.

Transfer the pie to a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the crust and streusel are a deep golden brown and the filling is bubbling, about 45 to 50 minutes. Transfer the pie to a cooling rack and cool to room temperature before serving.

Be sure to allow this Best Pumpkin Pie to cool completely before slicing. And for the cleanest cuts, use a knife briefly heated under hot water and wiped clean between cuts. The filling and crust can be prepared a day ahead, then assembled just before cooking.

If using a preformed crust (the kind sold in the foil pie plates), you will have about 1/4 cup excess filling. The excess can be baked in a buttered ramekin for a snack-size pumpkin custard.

If you would rather make your own crust, try this foolproof recipe from Cook's Illustrated magazine. It uses vodka to create a dough that is easy to work with, but still light and flaky. Don't worry, the vodka cooks off.

BEST PUMPKIN PIE

Makes 8 servings

Start to finish: 1 hour 15 minutes (15 minutes active), plus cooling

9-inch deep pie crust

15-ounce can pumpkin puree

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1 egg yolk

1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. If using a homemade or unformed pie crust, arrange it in a pie pan and crimp the edges.

Place a sheet of parchment paper inside the pie crust, then fill it with enough dry beans, uncooked rice or pie weights to come nearly to the top of the pie. Bake for 15 minutes, then set aside to cool slightly. Reduce the oven to 350 degrees.

While the crust is baking, in a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Heat for 7 minutes, stirring often.

Transfer the pumpkin mixture to a blender or food processor. Puree for about 10 seconds. One at a time, add the eggs and egg yolk, pulsing the blender or processor briefly between each.

With the blender or processor running, slowly pour in the cream and puree until well mixed, about another 10 seconds.

Discard the beans and parchment paper from the pie crust. Slowly pour the filling into the pie crust, then bake for 1 hour, or until the edges are puffed and the center is set and jiggles only slightly.

Cool completely on a rack before cutting.

Pie crust (makes 2 pie crusts):

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces

1/4 cup cold vodka

1/4 cup cold water

To make the crust, in a food processor, combine

1 1/2 cups of flour, the salt and sugar. Pulse several times to mix.

Add the butter and shortening and process until the dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds. The dough will resemble cottage cheese curds, and there should be no uncoated flour.

Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula and redistribute it evenly around the processor blade. Add the remaining flour and pulse 4 to 6 times, or until the flour is evenly distributed through the dough.

Transfer the dough to a medium bowl, then sprinkle the vodka and water over it. Using the rubber spatula, mix the dough and liquid with a folding motion, pressing down on the dough until it is slightly tacky and sticks together.

Divide the dough into 2 even balls, then flatten each into a 4-inch disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes, and up to 2 days.

When the dough has chilled, on a well- floured counter roll out each round to a roughly 12-inch circle. Transfer the dough to a pie pan, crimping any excess over the edge.

(Recipe from Cook's Illustrated)