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35 Comments
Allison M.
June 14, 2022
Amusing, but it is time to buy a rolling pin, unless you are going to put water in that wine bottle and freeze it before rolling out your dough.
Jaye B.
August 17, 2017
I just love that wide lattice design! I've never seen that before so thanks for putting up the photo. Peach pie is my No. 1 all time favorite dessert, bar none! I learned from my mom (a superb baker) to add almond extract to the filling instead of the typical cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. She also always used tapioca as a thickener.
bobbe
August 16, 2017
Just discovered the fresh blueberry pie recipe from Genius Recipes . . . this is one spectacular discovery. The peaches are perfectly ripe this evening on the tree out back, so we are harvesting ALL (this is how it goes with peaches) in the morning where I anticipate the sweetness will reach perfection! I have the pie crust in the butter tray container ready to roll out and bake. Will cooked peaches and fresh peach slices (or roasted, that's another idea for early morning risers) be as successful as the blueberry adventure? I believe it will.
Laura O.
August 16, 2017
I used a pie bird for my cherry pie- and it turned out perfect! My last cherry pie was too runny but I use a recipe with flour versus corn starch and no pie bird I cheated and used Pillsberry piecrust
Cheri M.
September 18, 2015
Sarah just had a thought maybe you need to scrunch scrunch, that is a pie in a dish with scrunched up filo pastry topping is that a pie. So easy to.
Frances B.
September 18, 2015
Its not hard to make a crust as long as you have time to prepare the pie crust I always make sure I have enough time to finish my crust or crust's depending on what kind of pie I am making at the time you know what I'm talking about and take a little bit more time to make it !! Then start your pie crust as you would if you were going to par-bake it because the only time you need to par-bake is when you are going to make a pudding type pie so: you just buy a pack of beans and only use then for par baking like the cheap ones then you can afford them!! I think then you will find its pretty easy to par-bake it and then just do what you did and then you wont stress over a pie crust at least making it at least !!! So if you have problems just consult a cook book and it will always let you know what you are doing or doing wrong Ok .....
Mary
September 18, 2015
I can't afford to go nuts over baking a pie, Frances...I'm holding onto the little bit of sanity I have left enough as it is...It's not the BAKING of the pie, but the pie CRUST. I destest it. I don't like pie...including apple pie, which is weird, really, because I love apples. I love pie with graham cracker crust because I LOVE the taste; the fact that it is so much easier to make than dough is just an extra-added bonus.
Frances B.
September 18, 2015
I think you go a little nuts over baking a pie !! My first pie was very good I was only 18 years old and now I have made several pies and some were by mistake that they turned out good. But I've made a chocolate pecan pie and it was my first pecan pie I had ever made.. But when I took it to our Church pie social it was almost all gone and one woman wanted the recipe but I told her the truth I just adapted it from a regular pecan pie to a chocolate pecan pie and I wasn't sure as to how I made it !!! So I will make it again this coming year and I will make an apple pie which I love but I love cake better !! All you have to do to be a successful baker is have confidence and a little bit of a knack for making whatever you want to bake !!!!!!
Cheri M.
September 14, 2015
Mary, Mary your list for the use of the GC, is never ending they even beguil the uninitiated across the one, I love soft fruits love blueberries (favourite bilberries) Favourite super favourite black cherries! Oh, peaches, ah! Nectarines you see what I mean, got some really good tips about cherries from Food52 this is an amazing site. My granddaughter Coco will love the idea for toasting mashmallows with GC, & the very famous Hershey chocolate on top.
My Mum told us during the war the American servicemen would give her & her sisters chocolate bars & stocking, the mind boggles. All this talk all from a GC. & a pie. Pie pie for now Mary thank you for your unique insight into all things GC! I will look out for you bye bye. often wondered about S,Mores!
My Mum told us during the war the American servicemen would give her & her sisters chocolate bars & stocking, the mind boggles. All this talk all from a GC. & a pie. Pie pie for now Mary thank you for your unique insight into all things GC! I will look out for you bye bye. often wondered about S,Mores!
Mary
September 14, 2015
I tell you what, Cheri, I will send you Graham crackers. I will send you Graham Cracker crumbs for the pie crust, too with a recipe for blueberry cheese pie my mom used to make for my birthday as a little girl. I LOVED blueberries and my mom's cheese pie (not cake) was my favorite. You have no cream cheese, either, so I'll send you that, too. We use them for S'mores (a combination of the words some more). We make them while camping over an open fire. We place marshmallows on sticks and put them over the fire until they melt. Then we take two half pieces of graham crackers, place 4 squares of Hershey's chocolate on one and the melted marshmallows on top and place the other half of cracker over it and press down until the chocolate melts and you have the MOST delicious sandwich EVER! S'mores...as in "I'll have some more, please." They started years ago in girl scouts over an open campfire. So, now everyone eats them while camping or at a bonfire on the beach. I love mine with ice cream, too. I make an ice cream sandwich with them. My best friend in college used to spread chocolate cake frosting on hers. Another loved hers with butter and jam. Little kids dip them in milk like a cookie. AND they make a great pie crust, too. Now you know the many versatile uses for graham crackers. (When they got stale, we crushed them up and fed the ducks).
Cheri M.
September 14, 2015
That is so funny , we have play dough here still intrigued to taste Graham's crackers. May I say Mary it is so nice that we can have differences but still love pie!
Mary
September 14, 2015
I hope I am not insulting pie crust makers on other continents...or ANYWHERE for that matter. I just don't like pie crust. (I DO love Play Doh...and all it's nifty colors...but not to eat...that was my cousin's favorite food).
Cheri M.
September 14, 2015
Excuse me I have no Graham crackers Mary! Living in the UK so pie wit h pastry is the way to go!
Mary
September 14, 2015
I've never baked a pie crust...and for good reason...I hate it. (If I want to gnaw on a wet clump of flour I would make it that way. My mother insisted on using Betty Crocker pie sticks...it tasted like salty Play Doh...and it didn't even come in nifty colors. I love pies with graham cracker crust...so simple and delicious...graham, sugar, butter...the end. (I pre-bake the crust...it makes it toasty, sweeter and less crumbly. It takes minutes to prepare (I zap my own graham crackers in my trusty ol' food processer); it comes out beautifully every time; it tastes delicious and no Cortizone cream is needed (for the hives) and no EMTs need to be called.
Mary
September 14, 2015
Oh dear Sarah...let me put it this way...if hives were considered as beauty marks, then I would be considered freaking beautiful!
Laurie
September 14, 2015
That rye pie failure description made me laugh out loud. So you WOULD recommend the rye crust? It sounds....like it has potential.
Cheri M.
September 12, 2015
I was trembling with anticipation-what a relief it worked amazingly good, but how you waited 3 hours before you dived in I will never ever know! Erh! I have peaches...............!
PieceOfLayerCake
September 10, 2015
Pie crust senses fear....the moment I began making delicious, flaky pie crusts was the moment I slapped it around and showed it who was boss. I had a few failures along the way, but instead of letting it win, I was motivated to succeed! In general, I still freak out about WHAT I'm going to make guests....I ask myself: "is this impressive yet approachable enough for company?", "is this executable in the time I have?" "Am I familiar enough with this technique to be absolutely sure its going to turn out?", "can I afford this?"...then I ask myself again: "is this impressive?!". In the end, even after serving a few complete failures with a smile on my face, I've learned that even a bad homemade pie is lightyears better than a store-bought crust and a canned filling.
Sarah J.
September 11, 2015
There should be some sort of flowchart/quiz/computer program where you put in a few variables (season, how many guests, how important they are to impress, what kind of people they are...) and it gives you the perfect dessert or pie to make!
PieceOfLayerCake
September 13, 2015
Yes! Didn't they have a book like that in the 80's where you looked up your features and it told you what color to wear? :)
Greenstuff
September 10, 2015
I'm not a huge fan of the browned butter, press in, recipes, though I concede that they are convenient! And lots of us used to use shortening but "evolved" to all butter. I'm a big fan of Food52er Boulangere's description of the evolution from lard to shortening to butter. It has a great tutorial on how to make a flaky, all-butter, pie crust https://thesolitarycook.wordpress.com/2012/07/28/perfect-flaky-pastry/
walkie74
September 10, 2015
I haven't baked a pie for a party in...forever. I need to make this happen. Like yesterday.
Mlanterman
September 9, 2015
I've been baking pies since i was a little girl and I only ever par bake for pudding-like fillings. I think you can skip that step with confidence, moving forward! I also like to replace half the butter with shortening-- it makes rolling out the dough easier and gives you a more reliably flaky crust. Alton Brown has good wisdom on this.
Pie baking just takes practice! Recipes are so easily made useless by whatever is happening with the weather (never trust the amount of liquid called for in a recipe, always go by feel), that once you know what your dough should feel like, you'll be able to eyeball all of your ingredients and improvise successfully. Good luck! Happy pie baking!
Pie baking just takes practice! Recipes are so easily made useless by whatever is happening with the weather (never trust the amount of liquid called for in a recipe, always go by feel), that once you know what your dough should feel like, you'll be able to eyeball all of your ingredients and improvise successfully. Good luck! Happy pie baking!
Sarah J.
September 10, 2015
Thank you for the shortening tip! One day, I'd like to do a side-by-side all butter vs. shortening comparison.
Mlanterman
September 10, 2015
Oh, that would be so great. I would love to read that! Pie eaters/bakers can be really divided on it.
My mom uses all shortening. You get really flaky, thin crust, but I find it lacking in flavor. I lean more towards the biscuit-ey texture of the combo (butter and shortening) crust. I find it stands up better to juicy fillings, and the buttery flavor is incomparable.
My mom uses all shortening. You get really flaky, thin crust, but I find it lacking in flavor. I lean more towards the biscuit-ey texture of the combo (butter and shortening) crust. I find it stands up better to juicy fillings, and the buttery flavor is incomparable.
ChefJune
September 9, 2015
Now that's PIE!!! Congratulations, Sarah. Love your story. and here's a tip... when you're making a one-crust pie, use Paule Caillat's browned butter pastry. You don't have to roll it - just pat it into the pan. and it is DEE-licious. This long-time pie baker just adores it.
AntoniaJames
September 10, 2015
Thanks for the tip, June! I've had my eye on that recipe for a while. Definitely will use it, next time I have the chance. ;o)
Sarah J.
September 10, 2015
Thank you!! I am so eager to make that recipe! I love the idea of a pat-in pie crust (that's supposed to be that way). What have (/what haven't) you filled it with?
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