Wonderful Strawberry Pie

This baked strawberry pie was my very first attempt to make a lattice top. I have practiced a few times since to discover the best way to accomplish this. I tried making the lattice on the countertop and then transfering it to the pie. Although the making part is easier, the transferring part was nearly disasterous. Making the lattice on the pie is a little messy but I think I have figured out how to do a weave more systematically and it works pretty well now.

I got this recipe from my new vintage pie book Farm Journal's Complete Pie Cookbook. In my lifetime I don't think I could ever make all the pies in that book. But I'll try! This was a fun and tasty pie and a good way to have strawberry pie in the winter. I'm working on getting permission to share the recipes but in the meantime, you should just get your own copy! Gotta Love Amazon!

Pumpkin Hand Pies

Hand pies are seriously addictive! Is it a good thing that they take hours and hours (a small exxageration) to make? For these I used Paula Deen's pastry crust. It's the first time I liked a butter/shortening combo crust and I will definitely try it again. The filling is the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pie I've already posted about.

I used my new Petite Pie Mold in the pumpkin shape. In the directions you are instructed to use the mold to cut you pastry. Then you line the mold, stretching to fit. Next you add the filling and lay the top crust over. When I make them again, I'll cut the top and bottom crust bigger than the mold to avoid the stretching step. Then I'll trim away the excess.

Man oh man were these delicious!

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.

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.

The Weight of a Pie

I never know when I'm going to come across a cool accessory for my kitchen. I'm forced to be in condition yellow at all times just so I don't miss a great find. The other day I was in Home Goods and saw a box of pie weights tucked back on a shelf amidst the dry pastas and crackers. Yippee!
You can't just walk into Target and buy this stuff!

I came right home and tested them out. The idea with pie weights is that you can pre-bake a crust without all those holes punched into the bottom of your crust. If you did nothing, then of course the crust would rise into a fun, albeit useless dome. The holes allow the steam to escape without raising the crust. To use the weights means leaving your crust intact which is important if your filling threatens to seep through the holes. Also, sometimes the holes split the crust and it comes out cracked and broken. Or sometimes the holes seal back up and your crust still rises.

I did a test and was surprised with the results. I baked two crusts, one with each method, for the same amount of time and temp (15 minutes at 400 degrees). The pie weight crust was not fully cooked and didn't brown as nicely as the poked crust. Also, one box of weights wasn't really enough for my generous 9" pan. I think each method has advantages and it depends on your pie as to which one you should use. But remember to adjust the baking time.

Bird in a Pie

Today I tried 3 new things in one pie. I tried a new, supposedly low fat pie crust, I tried my new pretty green pie plate and I tried my new pie bird.

First the pie crust. I’m not sure how it could be low fat because it is made with butter and cream cheese instead of shortening. It was hard to work with until I added a lot more water than it called for. But the taste wasn’t bad. I prefer the texture of a shortening crust because it’s more flaky than crumbly, but for a crumbly crust, it was passable. I may try this again and tweak the recipe. Here is the original from Health magazine (November 2010) for your testing pleasure:

Low Fat Pie Crust  
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 sticks chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
6 tablespoons block-style, reduced-fat cream cheese
1/4 cup very cold water
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Second, the pie plate. I am maxed out on space in my kitchen.  But when I saw this pretty dish, I knew I could make room for one more pie pan. 

Third, the pie bird.  When I first heard of pie birds, I was browsing a Country Living magazine. They had a selection of several pretty birds.  It took me awhile to understand that the birds are a method for releasing steam from a double crust pie and that when they do, they make a whistling sound. I ordered the cheapest one I could find and tried it out. My mistake (which forces me to try again) was not sealing the crust sufficiently so the steam came out in many places, not just the bird’s yellow beak. But, amazingly enough, I heard a whistle! I must try this again. Here is a link to the site where I bought my sweet black bird:  http://www.cheftools.com/Norpro-Ceramic-Pie-Bird/productinfo/02-3218/

-Quenta