Giving Pie a Try
Guest Blog by: Midge
This weekend I thought it would be a GRAND idea to bake a pie! I was very encouraged after reading Molly’s blog post with advice on baking. But, still a bit hesitant, I took the easy way out and bought a pre-made roll out pie dough and two cans of pie filling.
I thought for sure that I had this one in the bag. No muss, no fuss… I threw a bit of flour on my nose (so I looked like I had been baking) and put the ingredients together. I followed the can and the pie crust package to the last dotted i.
Did I mention that it tasted terrible? Taking a shortcut made me feel as if baking was easy but easy does not exactly equal yummy!!! I better get back to the drawing board because Thanksgiving is right around the corner! Nothing beats a made from scratch pie… I wonder where I went wrong?
By the way, my husband thanked me for even attempting to make a pie and he ate every last bit of it. I think I will definitely try again if only to see his smiling face!
What are your favorite pie recipes? What kinds of pie would you recommend for a beginner baker?
Pies can be tricky, but I personally like the Kraft Perfect Apple pie (I think that’s the name of it.) The key to the crust is to make sure everything is super cold. The shortening should be cold (keep it in the fridge,) use ice water where water is called for and I actually keep a separate bowl of ice cubes to keep my hands cold. It doesn’t sound pleasant since you’ll be baking pies when it’s less than warm out, but you’ll be preheating your oven (make sure it’s fully preheated before you put the pie in,) so it won’t be too bad
Plus, one bite of that flaky crust and you’ll forget all about icy hands!
Midge Says: Really useful ideas! I shared this on Facebook as well! Thank you for posting!
You know you can always add your own spices to a bland, canned filling, as long as you don’t over do. I think Pillsbury makes a fairly decent refrigerator crust. I have never, however found a filling that really brought out the flavor of the fruit. I usually add (to apple filling) cinnamon, a little nutmeg and just a tablespoon or so of brown sugar. Certainly not as good as home made, but will do in a pinch.
Midge Says: That sounds like a great way to spice up a pie! I was so disappointed with the blah taste of the canned filling. I am going to share your ideas on Facebook with our readers… thanks for writing in!
I use the pillsbury pie crust but make my own filling. The crust seems like the hard part to me. Or make an apple crisp and you don’t have to worry about a crust at all.
Midge Says: My husband loves apple crisp… maybe I will give that a try next!
For pie crusts . . . practice, practice, practice! And for convenience sake, since you have out all your stuff and are getting the kitchen messy, make a bunch. We usually make 6-8 pie crusts at a time. They are then layered with wax paper in a shallow round tupperware container. They’ll keep in the freezer for 2-3 months. When I need one, I just set the container out on the counter for a few minutes and the layers pop right out. It is so nice to do this around the 2nd week of November. Go into holiday baking season with the convenience of store bought and the taste of homemade!
Midge says: Wow, I never thought about freezing pie crusts! Thanks for the helpful hint Karen!
I’ve tried many different recipes for pie crust. The BEST advice I got–from a friend who’s been making pies as long as I’ve been alive–is this, use half lard/half shortening (room temp is fine). The lard makes for a great flaky crust! Don’t skimp on either. Handle the dough as LITTLE as possible! She doesn’t measure anything out, but I asked her to let me watch and write down exactly what she does. This has helped tremendously! I don’t hate making crusts anymore.
Now I want to try freezing them ahead of time.
Midge Says: Thanks Stephanie for sharing your advice! I am now feeling a bit more confident about trying again! I really would love to make a nice flaky crust
I use all butter for my crusts. It hardens if you chill them, but will warm up to soft-enough-to-roll-out on the countertop. I recently grabbed a can of pie filling for an emergency/quick pie. I very rarely buy them except for mountain pies when camping, and I’d forgotten how skimpy the fruit is. So I added sliced peaches to the blackberry pie filling (since that was what I had on hand). I think I’ll stick to completely homemade pies from now on!
Midge says: It is amazing that a large can of sliced fruit is almost full to the brim – of fruit! And yet, a can of pie filling is mostly “filling” with a few pieces of fruit floating in it. And pie filling is so expensive too! Great idea about adding sliced peaches! And what is a mountain pie?