Brandied Pear Pie with Pecan Crumble

This is a pie I conceived of on my last flight back to LA from Toronto. At that point I had already spent about 15 hours on planes in 11 days and was 2 hours into my last flight until early November. I couldn't read, wasn't interested in the movie and was so wired I couldn't sleep. So I sat and doodled and thought of ideas for recipes, specifically pie recipes. I'll admit I'm at the very beginning of mastering homemade pies, but the more of my own recipes I write the more I like doing it and the more I want to try. So here goes, the first pie recipe ever put together by me! Check it out:

Brandied Pear Pie with Pecan Crumble

5-6 cups of peeled, sliced pears (this is for a deep dish pie plate.)
1 crust pie crust
1/4 cup brandy
1 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup flour - separated
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 stick butter - room temperature
2 cup chopped/crushed pecans

1. Preheat to 425 degrees
2. Peal and and core the pears. I got this great method for coring the pears from Jaden's Steamy Kitchen: "To core a pear, lop off the top and the very bottom of the pear. Cut the pear in half, starting from the top at the stem end. Since I don’t have a melon baller, I used my measuring spoon - the 1-teaspoon spoon was the perfect size and shape to remove the core. Cut cored pear into wedges, lengthwise. You can cook with apples instead of pears; just increase the cooking time by 10 minutes." Once they are cored, slice them up.
3. Toss the pears with the brandy, white sugar, 1/4 cup flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Let sit for 15 minutes.
4. Roll out crust for the bottom of the pie plate and place in an ungreased pie plate, trimming off the excess.
5. Gently pour the pear mixture into the prepared plate.
6. In a medium bowl rub the stick of butter with the remaining 1/2 cup of flour, brown sugar and pecans, so that it all is evenly mixed and resembles coarse crumbs. Evenly cover the top of the pears with the pecan mixture.
7. Place pie plate on a baking sheet in the oven and lower heat to 350 degrees. Bake for 55-70 minutes at 350. Monitor it to make sure the top doesn't burn. When the color of the top is just how you like it, place a piece of foil lightly on top to slow the browning and prevent burning.

I tries this pie last night, because my entire office has a serious sweet tooth and all my talk of baking has made them jealous. Plus our movie FLASH OF GENIUS opens today and I thought some sweet treats were in order for that. And I was told not to talk about baking anymore until I brought something into share! So far the reviews back on the pie are good. I think it's really sweet and rich, which simply means you have to take a smaller slice. If anyone else tries it I'd love to hear how it turns out and what, if any, modifications you did or would make.

Go see FLASH OF GENIUS this weekend!