Pie Recipe with Tips

PIE (This is my basic recipe for all pie) Pie Crust Ingredients 2 cups flour 1 pinch of salt 2/3 cup Crisco (I just take a large spoon and add two very large spoonful’s) 1/3-cup ice water Step 1: In a bowl, mix the flour and salt. Step 2: Cut in the Crisco. It is best to use a pastry blender (an implement with a handle and wires attached to the handle) or a fork so your hand does not touch the pastry. Warm hands will ruin pastry. Once the shortening is added, the mixture will look crumbly). Step 3: Drizzle in the ice water (the water really needs to be cold for good pastry). As you do this, use the fork or pastry blender to cut in the water and mix it with the flour. Tip: Cocktail shakers make nice cold water. Step 4: After you have added enough water (you may end up needing a little less or a little more than 1/3 cup), gently gather the pastry into two balls. Try to touch it as little as possible. Step 5: On a well-floured surface, roll out one of the balls. Tip: You want your dough to have enough flour under it, or it will not roll well. Tip: If you do not have a rolling pin, use any strong drinking glass or a wine bottle. Step 6: Put the bottom crust into the pie pan. Tip: You can do this by rolling the flat circle back onto the rolling pin and then gently lifting it over the pan and rolling it back out. Step 7: Put in your filling (see the filling section of this recipe). Step 8: Roll the other ball of dough out in the same way and put it on top of the pie. Step 9: Turn the edges under (together) and then crimp to make the crust. NOTE: Many pies freeze well (apple, berry, strawberry rhubarb). You can freeze the pie after this step. When you are ready to bake the pie, preheat the oven, take the pie out of the freezer (do not defrost), and do steps 10-12 (baking time may increase by 15-30 minutes, but the pie will be just great). Step 10: Cut slits into the top (around 8 of them in a circle). You can also cut designs or numbers (if you are counting pies). This is just to let the pie breathe while it bakes. Step 11: Brush the pie crust with your choice of milk, egg beaten with or without milk, or some milk substitute (e.g. almond milk for your vegan friends) Optional (but we like to do it): Sprinkle sugar on top of the crust. Big chunky sugar (like raw sugar) works best. (This is especially good on apple pie). Step 12: Bake the pie at approximately 400 degrees for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Tip: You want a hot oven. I believe it keeps the crust crisp (especially the bottom crust). Tip: You should see the juice of the pie bubbling out of the slits and onto the pan. When you see good ooze, it means the fruit and sugars are nicely mixed and have made yummy goodness. (Note: some fruit like apples may not ooze much, but berry pies will have fantastic ooze.) Filling A basic pie filling has 4-5 ingredient categories. Just mix these together, and your filling is done • Fruit • Lemon zest • Thickener • Sugar • Any other spices you think would go well • Fruit - 4-6 cups of any fruit you choose (e.g. blueberries, ollaliberries). • You can use any fruit you think will work. I did learn the hard way though that persimons make very bad pie. • The exact amount of fruit depends on the size of your pie pan and how much fruit you like in your pie. • I generally cut round fruit into 8ths. • Try fruit combinations. My favorites are strawberry and rhubarb, strawberry and raspberry, apricot and raspberry, nectarine and raspberry (really almost anything and raspberry). • Lemon zest (this is the secret ingredient that adds zing – I recommend using Meyer lemon). • Thickener • Basically you need some kind of thickener, or you will have a very runny pie. I like tapioca, other people like cornstarch. For me, it depends on the fruit. Berry is better with tapioca; peach can be good with cornstarch. • I tend to use about 1/3 cup of tapioca. If I used cornstarch, I use about 1/4th cup. • For apple pie I use flour (about 1/4 cup of flour plus cinnamon and nutmeg). • Sugar (approx 1 cup). Taste your fruit. If it is very sweet (like very ripe strawberries), use less sugar. I have used as little as 1/4 cup of sugar (e.g. once when I had very sweet peaches). In general, I tend to use between 1/2-1 cup of sugar. If your pie is tart, eat it with ice cream. You can use all different kinds of sugar. I like raw sugar. For peach pie, I like brown sugar. Beet sugar is also good. Strawberry rhubarb pie One of my all time favorites. The amount of fruit depends on the size of your pan. I use roughly 4 nice stalks of rhubarb (can go with less) and about 2 baskets of strawberries. Mix this with a ¼ of tapioca (small size not large). Add lemon zest and sugar. I use probably around ¾ cup sugar. The amount you use depends on the sweetness of your strawberries and how sweet you like it. Mix this. This is your filling. Follow the recipe for pie above. Peach Pie Peel and cut roughly 8-10 peaches. Cut them into eights. Add approximately ¼ cup tapioca, ¾-1 cup sugar, and the zest of a lemon (I like Meyer lemons). This is your filling. Follow the recipe for the pie crust above. Pecan Pie Bake a bottom pie crust (10-15 minutes at 375 should do it). In a bowl mix 3 large eggs, 3/4 cup sugar,1 cup light corn syrup, 5 tablespoons butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla/rum/bourbon (I add a splash more bourbon), ½ teaspoon salt. Add 2 cups toasted pecans. Bake 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes until it is set. Helpful Pie Tips 1. Taste your fruit and adjust your sugar. 2. Lemon zest brings out the flavor of a fruit (use a microplane if you can). 3. Touch the pie dough as little as possible. Heat is the enemy of pie dough. It melts the shortening and makes you pie less flaky. 4. Things like altitude and heat can alter the recipe. Go by looks (for shortening and water). Don’t just stick to the recipe. 5. Cocktail shakers make really nice cold water. 6. Bake your pie in a hot oven. It makes the crust crisp up. 7. Look for the ooze when you’re baking. Most fruit pies will ooze. Good ooze means the fruit and sugar have come together to make an especially delicious pie (apple pie may not ooze). 8. Relax – remember – it’s as easy as pie. Baking a Frozen Pie 1. Many types of pie freeze really well (berry pies, apple pie). 2. Keep the pie in the freezer and preheat your oven to 375 degrees. 3. When the oven is hot, take the pie out of the freezer. 4. Brush the top with something to help it brown. I typically use a little milk. You can also use almond milk (for vegans) or egg if you want it really brown. 5. Sprinkle with a little sugar (this is optional, but I like it). 6. Bake. You will have to keep an eye on it. It will definitely take more than 45 minutes and will likely take 1-1.5 hours. 7. The pie is done when you see that it is nice and brown and has good ooze coming out of it. Apple pies may ooze less. Berry pies (including strawberry rhubarb) have really nice ooze. (A little tip: When the ooze cools, peel it off the pan and eat it. It’s like homemade fruit roll) .

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