Pear Pie Fit for a Bear

As soon as the pears are all gone, I'll stop eating so much pie, right?  I'm sure I can quit whenever I want.  I mean, there's no better way to prepare for winter hibernation than to eat as much pie as possible, now, while the pears are ripe.  I wouldn't want to sleep through the winter without a little extra padding to see me through until spring.  

Did I tell you that my mom and Byron saw a bear in the woods at my parents house?!  It's the first bear seen there, and was seen the same year that my dad got a good look at the first coyote anyone has ever seen there. The wildlife in their forest is getting even more wild!  Seeing a bear so close to our honeybees makes me nervous.  If you want to see the video Byron made of the bear, click here.  

Since I would like to eat like bear preparing for winter, but it's unlikely that I will skip many meals during the hibernation months, I've been trying to make healthy pie.  Several times Brandon has been excited when he smelled a pie baking, but then asked, "Wait, is it a real pie?"  Real pies have flaky buttery crust made with white flour, and the contents of the pie are sweet with sugar.  I have not been making real pie.  

Instead of white flour and the effort and mess of a real crust, I have been melting butter in the pie pan while the oven heats, and then mixing in some almond flour and salt, and smashing it flat with a fork.  It tastes like almond butter. 

Instead of using white sugar, I've been mixing pears with nuts, dried fruit, and dark chocolate chips, and making a custard with eggs and a little sucanat.  It's not real pie, but it's pretty good.  Especially served hot, with ice cream.  Doh!  

For this pie, which looks like a giant cookie, I blended the pears with the eggs, sucanat, and some cream, sprinkled in some dark chocolate chips and a little cinnamon, and baked it for an hour, until it was firm.  

I even liked it cold, eaten right out of the pan with a spoon as an after work encouragement to change out of my work clothes, clean the kitchen, and cook dinner.  It's amazing how inspiring eating nearly half a pie can be!  Is it time to hibernate yet?