Recipes

[oceantown]

I forgot to mention, I use a pie shield which is a metal ring. I covers the crimped edge and protects it from getting too brown.

[Gr8Auntie]

Hi Oceantown, I'd appreciate your recipe, please. Your pie looked really yummy.

[Meezerpleezer]

demitra--I just made a squash pie the other day. I pre-cooked the crust for 10 mins then cooled it before adding the filling and baking the rest of the way. It was fine.

[oceantown]

Gr8Auntie, Thanks so much!

In case you or anyone would like the apple pie recipe, this is the recipe we love. It is from my Mom-In-Law. We like our apples with the delicious apple spices and well cooked, not crunchy.

Apple Pie (9-inch)

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Dash salt

6 cups thinly sliced pared Golden Delicious Apples

2 Tablespoons butter (not margarine)

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Prepare pastry.

2. In a large bowl, stir together sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Add apple slices and mix well. Turn into 9-inch pastry-lined pie pan; dot with butter.

3. Cover with top crust, seal and flute. Cut slits in top pastry. I like to make cuts in the shape of an apple! Fold 12-inch square of foil in half and cut out center in a circle shape about 7 1/2 inches across. Unfold and lay foil loosely over the top of the pie crust to protect the fluted edge from excessive browning; remove foil the last 15 minutes of baking (if needed for the edge to become lightly golden brown).

4. Bake 10 minutes at 450 degrees. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees and continue baking for 60 minutes more or until juice begins to bubble through slits in crust.

[oceantown]

Gr8Auntie, Here you go! This is the pastry recipe I use. It is for a double crust pie, but last time I made a pumpkin pie, I made this recipe because it makes it easier to have plenty to roll out. I used more than half to make the bottom crust. Then, the additional pastry was used to make pie crust "cookies", sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. If you are making a double crust pie, you may want to increase these amounts by 1/2 just to be sure you have plenty of dough to roll out for your pie dish.

For pumpkin pie I use the Libby's recipe on the canned pumpkin (not the pie filling). The pumpkin pie also bakes starting in a hot oven, then turn the temp down.

Pie Crust

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup PLUS 2 Tablespoons shortening

4 to 5 Tablespoons ice cold water

(I add several ice cubes to a mug of cold water when I start the recipe)

1. Preheat oven according to pie recipe used.

2. Measure flour and salt into bowl and stir together. Use a pastry blender (or two dinner knives) and cut shortening into flour/salt mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.

3. Sprinkle 1 Tablespoon ice water over flour mixture. Stir with a fork. Continue to sprinkle 1 Tablespoon ice water at a time over dry areas and keep stirring until flour is moistened and dough cleans side of bowl. (Add extra ice water if necessary, but you don’t want it wet.)

4. Wipe counter with damp cloth and put 2 strips of wax paper down (slightly overlapping) and it will stick to the counter. Lightly flour wax paper. Shape dough into a ball and flatten into a round, pressing edges toward the center to make them even. With floured rolling pin, roll the disk until it is slightly larger and turn over to make sure it is not sticking, adding a little more flour if necessary to the wax paper and also to the top of the dough, if needed. Don’t add too much flour, just a little if needed to keep it from sticking. Evenly roll out the dough until it is 2 inches larger all around than the inverted pie dish.

Roll dough around rolling pin to transfer to pie pan. (Pick up edge of wax paper to help start the pastry around the rolling pin.) Unroll dough over pie pan. Holding sections of the edge of dough ease into pan without stretching. Trim excess pastry, leaving about 1 inch beyond edge. Fold pastry under and flute edge. Pour filling into crust. Use a pie shield, OR, cut a large circle from the center of a square of aluminum foil and lay across the top of pie and loosely fold the sides of the foil down to protect the fluted edge from over-browning.

Follow baking instructions for pie recipe, and remove pie shield or foil during the last 15 minutes of baking time, if needed, in order for the edge to become lightly golden.

Notes:

To bake unfilled pie shell, press bottom and side thoroughly with fork. Bake in a 475 degree oven for 8-10 minutes, until lightly golden brown.

[Writer with Flair]

On 7/15/2014 oceantown said:

I have heard that shrinking crust is caused by stretching the pastry when putting into the pie baker. I roll the pastry onto my rolling pin, then unroll it over the pie dish. Then pick up the edge and carefully ease it into the pan. Then crimp the edge, slightly overlapping the pie dish.

I have never had soggy crust. I would think that your temp is not high enough. When I make an apple pie, I start it in a hot oven, preheated to 450 degrees. Bake 10 minutes at 450, then reduce temp to 300 degrees and continue baking 60 minutes or more until juice begins to bubble through slits in crust.

When I make pumpkin pie, I use the recipe on the Libby's pumpkin label (plain pumpkin, not pie filling).

Before:

After:

I would be happy to post the pastry recipe if you would like.

I loved your "Before" and "After" pictures. That pie looked delicious. Save that last piece for me!

[Gr8Auntie]

oceantown, thank you so much for both the pie crust and apple pie recipes and the excellent directions. I can cook quite well, but baking pies is not my forte. I appreciate the quick response and your attention to detail.

Have a wonderful night....

[oceantown]

Writer with Flair, Thanks so much! I would love to share the pie with you!

Gr8Auntie, you are so welcome. I hope it works out well for you. Hope you have a great night too.