Make Me A Pie! 19.08.2013

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As summer ends and fall draws near there is a bountiful amount of ripe, delicious fruit at hand. It’s a beautiful time to enjoy jams, jellies, smoothies and of course…PIE!

Wether you have never baked a pie in your life (and truth be told, you’re pretty intimidated) or you are a pie professional, we have some indulgent and sweet pie recipes that will have you excited to fire up that oven.

Crust

We must start at the foundation of your pie – the crust. People are often leery of making their own crust, but it needn’t be something to fear. The recipe below is simple and full of buttery, flakey flavor. And if you are short on time, or just not ready to take the leap, go ahead and by a prepared pie crust (we won’t tell).

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface and cutters
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 tablespoons ice water, plus more as needed

In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, salt and cold butter.

Pulse the processor until the mixture resembles fine sand. Remove the lid and add the ice water to the mixture. Run the processor just until the mixture rolls itself into a little ball. If the mixture is a bit dry, add more ice water by the tablespoonful until it comes together. Gather the dough into a ball. With a bench scraper or knife, divide the mixture evenly in half. Shape each half into a disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes. At this point you can keep the wrapped dough in the refrigerator for a few days or freeze for later use (if making a pie that uses only a bottom crust, freezing the second part of the dough now is a great time saver for later).

Flour your rolling pin and work surface and roll out 1 pie crust to about a 12-inch round. For a lattice top, roll out the other pie crust to about a 10-inch round, and cut this into 1-inch strips with a regular or fluted pizza cutter. For a standard top crust roll into a second 12 inch circle.

Blueberry Pie

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place one 12 inch circle of pie dough in a 9 inch pie pan.

6 cups fresh blueberries, washed and stemmed, or frozen, thawed
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
2 Tbsp butter cut into small pieces
1 egg
1 Tbsp milk

In a bowl gently mix the blueberries, lemon juice, flour and sugar. Pour the blueberry mix into the prepared pie crust. Place the small pieces of butter on the pie filling, spaced out to cover evenly. Top with second pie crust and fold the edge of top crust under the edge of bottom crust. Crimp with fingers or fork to seal. Place pie in refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
Whisk together egg and milk and brush the crust with the mixture. Cut 4 small slits in the top crust so steam can escape. Place pie on baking sheet (to catch drips) and bake at 425 for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 30 to 40 more minutes. Place foil around edges of crust to prevent over-browning. Cool completely before serving.

Peach Pie

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place one 12 inch circle of pie dough in a 9 inch pie pan.

6 cups thinly sliced peaches or frozen, unsweetened peaches, thawed
1/2 to 2/3 cup white granulated sugar (depending on the sweetness of your peaches)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine all of the above ingredients in a bowl. Allow to sit for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir before pouring into pastry-lined pie pan. Top with second crust and fold the edge of top crust under the edge of bottom crust. Crimp with fingers or fork to seal. Cut 4 small slits in the top crust so steam can escape. Place pie on baking sheet (to catch drips) and bake at 375 for 50 -60 minutes. Place foil around edges of crust to prevent over-browning. Cool completely before serving.

Apple Pie

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place one 12 inch circle of pie dough in a 9 inch pie pan.

6 cups thinly sliced, peeled cooking apples
1 Tbsp lemon juice (optional, add if using a sweeter apple)
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

If using lemon juice, toss with apple slices. In a separate large bowl, combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add apples and toss to coat. Pour apple mixture into pastry-lined pie pan. Top with second crust and fold the edge of top crust under the edge of bottom crust. Crimp with fingers or fork to seal. Cut 4 small slits in the top crust so steam can escape. Place pie on baking sheet (to catch drips) and bake at 375 for 50 -60 minutes. Place foil around edges of crust to prevent over-browning. Cool completely before serving.

Tip: With all of these pies you can either watch the crust for browning and cover the edges with foil when it has reached the desired level of browning. Or you can start the pie in the oven with foil around the crust’s edge and uncover halfway through baking.