Cranberry-Apple-Pear Slab Galette

Directions

1. TO MAKE THE GINGERSNAP COOKIE PIE CRUST: In a food processor, blitz your gingersnap cookies using the pulse function until they’re finely and uniformly ground. Remove, set aside, and wipe clean the bowl of your food processor. (Cookie crumbs can be prepped several days in advance; store in an air-tight container.)
2. In a food processor, pulse flour and salt to combine about 3 times. Scatter butter pieces over the flour mixture, then pulse until the butter is about the size of chickpeas, about 8 short pulses. Sprinkle several tablespoons of water over mixture and pulse a few times, then repeat with 1 tablespoon of water at a time, or just until small curds start to form and dough holds together when pinched with fingers. It’ll look kind of crumbly but that's okay. (Alternatively, you can do this by hand.)
3. Empty dough onto clean counter or piece of wax paper. Using bench scraper, gather dough into a rough rectangular mound about 12 inches long and 4 inches wide. Starting from the farthest end, use the heel of your hand to smear about one sixth of dough against your work surface away from you. Repeat until all of your dough has been smeared. Using bench scraper, gather the dough again into a 12-inch long and 4-inch wide mound and repeat smearing of dough with heel of hand. The dough should be smooth and cohesive at this point; if not, repeat smearing process again. Form dough into 4-inch disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until firm about 1 hour, or up to 3 days. The smearing process creates long layers of butter in the dough, which translates to long flaky layers in the cooked crust.
4. Heat the oven to 400° F while preparing filling and assembling galette.
5. TO MAKE THE FILLING AND ASSEMBLE GALETTE: Set aside 1/2 cup of cranberries. Bring remaining cranberries, 3/4 cup sugar, and orange juice to a simmer in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to dissolve sugar. Cook, stirring, just until cranberries begin to pop and release their juice, about 3 minutes. Drain cranberries in a sieve set over a bowl to catch the juice; you should have about 1 cup. Place cranberries in a small bowl, and stir in your reserved 1/2 cup of cranberries. Set aside.
6. Return strained cranberry juice to a saucepan and add ginger and orange rind. Simmer liquid over medium-low heat until thickened and reduced to 1/4 cup, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool before removing the ginger and orange to impart more flavor. Using a fine-mesh strainer, pour syrup over cranberries. Discard solids.
7. TO ASSEMBLE AND BAKE: Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Spread gingersnap crumbs on a clean work surface (I like using a sheet of parchment paper). Roll out dough on top of crumbs, coating both sides, into a large rectangle about 1/8-inch thick (or slightly thicker), about 16-inches long and 12-inches wide. Smooth out crumbs from time to time to distribute evenly; you may not need all of the crumbs. Transfer dough onto a large baking sheet. Spread about half of the apples and pears over the dough and top with about half of the cranberry-syrup mixture, leaving a 2 1/2-inch border around the edges, then repeat with remaining apples, pears, and cranberry-syrup mixture. Fold the edges of the dough over the filling, pleating it in the corners to hold in the filling. (If your dough is getting too warm at any point and is difficult to manage, return it to the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes, then proceed.)
8. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until fruit is bubbling and the crust is golden. I like to check the galette after 25 minutes; spoon off any excess liquid, if needed. Cool for at least 30 minutes on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.