Pie Season

I love fall for many reasons, but one of them is that it is pie season.  All the fruit is ripening, and being harvested, and all the crops are in from the garden.  Apples, peaches, cherries, pumpkin – you name it – it smells like pie to me!

While with Paul’s parents  a while back, his mom and I made several pies.  We made a few pumpkin and one delicious cherry pie! 

I don’t think I had ever made a cherry pie before, but I will definitely put it on my list of things to do again in the future!  Topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream it was good enough to “make you want to slap your mama,” as they say.  none of us slapped anyone, but we did enjoy this pie!

Paul’s grandma came foe lunch on day and brought two of the best lemon merengue pies I have ever eaten!  They were not runny at all, and the lemon flavor was so clean and tangy.  Yum!  I have to get that recipe as well. 

What is your favorite kind of pie?  Mine is anything but pumpkin.

My Secret Recipe

I am going to share my wildly successful apple pie recipe with you.  I am not sure where I got this recipe – I have had it for at least 10 years.  It is a great recipe!  It is also really easy to make – once you master the art of making a pie crust (see yesterday’s post).

Paper Bag Apple Pie
1 unbaked pie shell
2 Tbs. flour
6-8 med apples, peeled & sliced
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbs. lemon juice
Combine sugar, flour, and spices. toss with apple slices. Mix well.  Spoon into pie shell and sprinkle with lemon juice.
Topping:
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. butter or margarine (must be cold)
Combine topping ingredients until crumbly.  Sprinkle topping over apples.

Place pie in brown grocery bag.  Fasten with a paper clip or wooden clothespin and place on a cookie sheet.  Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees  on lowest rack.

Be sure the bag is not touching the element or sides of the oven.  Be careful when removing the paper clip or clothespin – escaping steam can burn you when opening the bag.
If your top crust is not as dark as you would like it upon opening the bag, you can place it under the broiler for a minute or two.  I like my crust to be golden brown on top, and I usually have to broil it after baking it in the bag.
All done – before broiling

All done – after broiling ( I left the one on the right in just a smidge too long, but it was still good)
  
Many happy tummies coming up!  Say “apple!”

Perfect Pie Crust

I have had some requests for my pie crust recipe since posting some of my pie pictures.  For years, I struggled to make a good pie crust, when I ran across this simple technique.  You can use any pie crust recipe, and it doesn’t seem to make a difference in the way it turns out. 

This is a two-crust recipe from Betty Crocker’s cook book that I use.  It is for a 9” pie (or two crumb-topped pies).
2 c. sifted flour (ok- I never sift my flour!)
1 tsp. salt
2/3 c. shortening
4 Tbs. water – make sure the water is ice cold.  You can put it in the freezer or even throw a few ice cubes into your measuring cup.  I always have a little extra water in the measuring cup and pour it in as I need it.
Mix together the flour and salt.  Using a pastry blender, cut in half of the shortening until it resembles fine meal.

When you have reached the right consistency, cut in the other half of the shortening until it is the size of small English peas.  Doing it this way ensures a tender, flaky crust.

Add the water 1 Tbs. at a time, mixing with a fork.  When the dough sticks together, gather it with your hands and form it into a ball.  Divide the dough into two equal lumps and roll out on a floured surface with a rolling pin.  It is important that you only roll it out once.  Re-rolling makes the crust dry and tough.  You can flour the rolling pin, too, and the dough will not stick to it.
It takes a little practice (the hardest part is keeping the pie crust round), but using the technique of cutting in the shortening this way, my pie crusts have always been successful – tender, flaky, and delicious! 
When you have rolled out the crust to the desired size, fold it in half and then in half again.  Pick up the quarter-circle shape and place it in your pie pan.  Unfold it gently and press it into the pan, trimming off the edges to 1 inch from the outside edge of the pan.  If you are making a one-crust pie, fold the excess crust under and pinch with your fingers to form the edge.  If you are making a two crust pie, don’t pinch it until you have the top crust in place. 
I hope to hear some good reports from all my pie-baking friends!  Later, I will post my Paper Bag Apple Pie recipe.  It is the best pie I have ever made (my husband considers it the best he’s ever eaten – he even refused ice cream with it the last time I made it – said it would interfere with the taste)!  I use this crust technique as my bottom crust, so get practicing! :)

Sing a Song of Sixpence…

A counter full of pies!  Four and twenty apples, baked in a pie.  When the pie was opened, the family began to sing…
“Can I have another piece?” 
True to my word, I baked some more apple pies last week.  This time, I had the aid of not only my trusty rolling pin and pastry blender, but my positively, absolutely, hot-diggety-dog, wonderful apple corer/peeler/slicer!  A gift from my oh-so thoughtful hubby, who knows that the apples are the hardest part of making the pie! 

With this baby, I can core, peel, and slice a large apple in less than ten seconds.  Eight, to be exact!  LOVE it! :)

There is no doubt that apple pies would be even fewer and farther between if I didn’t have this amazing invention!  (Thanks, Paul!) 
Below is my secret weapon for the best apple pie ever – a plain, everyday, brown grocery bag.  And no, I have never caught anything on fire by doing this.  It is perfectly safe.  You can see that the bag is touching nothing but the cookie sheet, and the added bonus is the pie never overflows into the oven!

While I still had problems with my crust ( I don’t know what is wrong. Perhaps my excessive bragging has caused the failure of my once-perfect pie crusts!), it tasted heavenly.  That last piece is calling… who will answer? :)