- Whole wheat pie dough (your favorite recipe made with olive oil instead of butter, enough for a double 9-inch crust)
- 1/4 cup stevia or monk fruit sweetener
- Pinch of potassium chloride salt substitute (or nutmeg) (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 6 pears, peeled, cored and sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon unsalted plant-based butter, cut in pieces (or olive oil)
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk
1. Preheat the oven to 425 F. Roll half of the pie dough on a lightly floured surface to fit a 9-inch pie plate. Drape the dough into the pie plate, leaving about an inch overhang.
2. Combine the natural sweetener, salt substitute, ginger, cinnamon and cornstarch in a small bowl. Reserve.
3. Arrange the pear slices in the pie shell and sprinkle with the reserved dry ingredients. Drizzle with orange and lemon juices; dot with small pieces of butter.
4. Roll out the remaining pie dough to form the top crust. Moisten the rim of the bottom crust with water. Cover with the top crust, trimming any large amount of excess. Press the two crusts together lightly and roll the edges under toward the center with your fingers. Crimp the edge decoratively.
5. Beat egg and milk together; glaze top crust lightly with a pastry brush. Cut size 2-inch slits evenly around the top for steam to escape and to test pears for doneness. Bake pie in center of the oven for 1 1/4 hours. Cover edges with aluminum foil if the crust becomes too brown. Cool on a pie rack until slightly warm or room temperature.