Recipe: Miss Oleda Halliburton's Easy Pear Pie on a Baking Sheet

the appetizer:

Sweety Pies by Patty Pinner, dispenses down-home wisdom with recipes like Flaky Pie Crust; Caramel Tin Roof Pie; and Miss Oleda Halliburton's Easy Pear Pie on a Baking Sheet.

Miss Oleda Halliburton's
Easy Pear Pie on a Baking Sheet

Makes one 12-inch pie

When I was younger. Mama had a friend named Miss Oleda, who seemed to be stuck in a state of anxiety. The woman worried about everything, especially about things having to do with her smiley, broad-shouldered husband, Cecil.

Whenever Mama asked Miss Oleda about Cecil, Miss Oleda would sigh and say, "He's a man and I don't trust him no farther than I can see him."

I once made a comment about Miss Oleda's anxieties, something like, "A woman that nice looking shouldn't be so anxious about a man," to which Mama replied, "Honey, it don't matter who you are or how you look, when you've got a man, you've got something to worry about."

Miss Oleda may have lacked assurance when it came to her husband's commitment to their relationship, but when she brought over one of her delicious pear pies to sample, it was evident where her confidence lay; it was locked inside her cooking.

Dough for one 9-inch single Flaky Pie Crust
1 cup sugar (a little more or a little less, depending on the
sweetness of the pears), plus 1 teaspoon for sprinkling
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
5 cups peeled, cored, and thinly sliced firm pears
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the crust to a 1/8-inch-thick, 16-inch circle. Transfer it to an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet, making sure to press out any creases; set aside.

In a good-sized bowl, combine 1 cup of the sugar (add more, or less, to suit your taste), the cornstarch, and cinnamon. Add the pears and vanilla, and, using a large fork, toss to coat with the mixture. Spoon the pears into the center of the crust, spreading them to within 2 inches of the edge. Bring the crust up over the pears to form a border of about 2 inches, pleating and folding the crust as needed. To give the pie a polished look, brush the folded edge with the lightly beaten egg white and sprinkle with the remaining 1 teaspoon sugar. Place in the oven and bake until the pears are tender and the crust is a pretty brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly on a wire rack before serving.