Strawberry Parfait Pie

I made this pie by creating a cream cheese/powdered sugar/cool whip/lime juice mixture and layering that with bananas and strawberries. I sprinkled powdered sugar and lime peel on top to make it all look frosty. I wish I had written down the amounts so I could share a recipe with you, sorry 'bout that! Try it anyway and let me know what you come up with.

Thank you Sweetology

Coconut Pistachio Pie

from Sweetology

We invited some new friends over for dinner on a hot day. For a cool and refreshing dessert, I served this delicious pie. This is one of the few pies that requires absolutely no cooking to prepare and it still tastes yummy. To improve the recipe and temper the strong pistachio flavor I might mix the pudding with some homemade vanilla custard though. I loved the coconut crust and will definitely try it again.

Perfect Pie Crust Tutorial

Mix together 2 cups of flour and 1/2 tsp salt in a metal or glass bowl.

Add 2/3 cup of Crisco shortening.

Using a pastry blender, cut shortening into flour until well distributed.

Shortening balls should be no larger than small pea size. Fill the 2/3 cup with ice and then water. Let water chill for 1 minute.

Drizzle 1/2 the water over the flour.

Toss the contents with a fork to distribute water.
Continue adding water and tossing with a fork until all flour has been absorbed and dough begins to ball together.

Press half the dough together in a handful to make a ball. Try not to work dough very much. Use a few kneading motions to bring the dough together. This is the most important step to getting a flaky tender crust. You mustn't handle the dough too much.

Handling carefully, make a disc out of the ball.

Make a disc with the remaining dough. Add a bit of water if necessary. Total water should be about 1/2 cup. At this point you can wrap the disc in platic wrap and chill for 1/2 hour or more. I have not found it necessary.

Lay dough on floured surface and press flat, keeping sides composed.

Roll carefully, flipping dough as necessary to add flour to the surface. Create a circle.

Your dough should look marbled.

Make the dough large enough to expand a couple of inches beyond your pie dish. It should be about 1/8" thick.

Fold the dough in half and bring it to the pie plate. Place the fold at the center line.

Gently manipulate the dough so it fits down into the pie dish, leaving a little to hang over the sides. If you are making a double crust pie, continue reading. If you need a prebaked crust, flute the edges, trim and poke with a fork to allow for steam. Check out the post of creative crusts for further instructions.

This is a mixure of 6 cups apple slices, 1/4 c flour, 3/4 c sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon.

Pour the apples into the pie plate and arrange them so they are well contained and laying flat.

Repeat preparation with the remaining dough disc. Lay it over the apples.

Lift the bottom crust and tuck the top crust under. Press together well to make a thick ring around the edge.

Pinch/twish the dough at an angle to make a pretty edge

Use a butter knife to slice away the edges and make a clean finish.

Brush the crust with a tablespoon or so of cream or milk. Sprinkle with sugar. Make small slices into the dough for venting. Bake on a baking sheet (to catch spills) at 375 for 45-60 minute. The pie is almost done when the filling is bubbling and steam is coming out of the vents. Let it cook 5-10 minutes more depending on the variety of apple you used and your desired tenderness for the apples. You can stab an apple slice through a vent hole to check for doneness. Let cool 30-60 minutes to allow filling to set.

OOPS! This pie was so flaky and tempting we couldn't even wait to take a picture.

Good Luck making a wonderful, flaky, tender, beautiful pie crust.

Jongewaard's Bake N Broil

Today we feature a guest post from Amanda who was fortunate enough to have a pie experience worthy of this blog. To read about other things she ponders check out The Flip Side of My Pillow.

The first stop after the airport and a long arduous journey home was Jongewaard's Bake N Broil. To get a pie. Because we were in Long Beach anyway so why would we not stop by? Would I have expected anything else? No. Every time I called home during the summer, and even to this day, I hear the mixer, spoons scraping the bottom the of pan, apple peelers, and timers going off in the background then am overcome with my mother's sensory detail and description the newest pie experiment. Oh how I reveled in finally being the beneficiary of this new hobby.

Now I know what you are thinking. Any restaurant that uses an "N" instead of "and" had better follow it up with some darn good food and atmosphere because we don't just accept broken grammar rules like that. Well, they did. Not only did they have an orange door to legitimize their name but they also sported a quaint dining area with a hometown diner feel. Maybe we'll even return there for regular breakfast food and not just pie. What a world that would be.

As for the pie, I thought it looked a little bland. Butter crust, learned what that was. Very crumbly and full. Not very decorated. Luckily we have learned to give every pie a fair chance and cut into it to reveal a beautiful filling that matched its looks with a rich taste.

As for me, I say we're going back. I have not have enough of Jongewaard's name or their pie. There is still much to explore. In fact, let's make this a real pie parade and line 'em up!

-Amanda

Creative Crusts

After you've laid out your crust into your pie dish and poked plenty of holes with a fork, it's time to make it beautiful and appealing. These are the 4 ways I flute or decorate my edges. It takes so little effort to make a plain dessert something beautiful to behold and oh so appetizing. Of course you can go to a lot of effort and create something spectacular as well. Do you have a different method I could try?

1. Use a fork to create lines around the edge.

2. Pinch and twist the edge between your thumb and the side of your pointer finger. Make sure you have extra bulk with this method.

3. Scallop the edges by pushing the dough up between the end of your thumb on one hand and the end of your thumb and pointer of the other hand.

4. This one takes time! Roll out your dough and cut long strips. I actually used my quilting template and and old rotary cutter to get perfect strips. Working on the countertop seal three strips together at one end and braid them together. I worked with shorter lengths and then pasted them together. I laid the long braid all out onto the bottom crust, moistening them slightly so they would adhere better and pasting the two ends together carefully. Watch super carefully as it bakes to not let your fancy braids over-brown.

Mysterious Pie

I have this picture in my archives, but for the life of me, I can't remember what kind of pie it is or for what occasion I made it. I suppose it could be a banana cream. Maybe its a lemon cream. Perhaps it's from my buttermilk series. It sure looks yummy! I'll bet it was delicious.

Double Chocolate Cream Pie (Again)

I made this recipe again because it's so easy and delicious. This time I sprinkled chopped up chocolate chips on top instead of mixing them into the warm filling. It had a pretty effect and added some fun crunch.