Six Pie Edges

While making my very first apple pie of the season with crisp Hood River Jonagolds (Thank you Cindy for telling me about your PTA's apple sale!),  I thought, "Why not use this opportunity to demonstrate some different ways to finish of the edge of a pie?"

Adding a little enhancement finishes off a pie nicely and for me, is really my favorite part of making one.

So, I do know that this apple pie looks a little crazy but making it served a greater purpose. From basic fork indentations to extravagant layered leaves, here's how to create six different pie edges:

Edge #1

Use a fork to press indentations along the crust. This is a classic pie edge and so easy to do.

 Edge #2

Use a table knife and your thumb to create a scalloped edge. Place your thumb on the edge and use the knife to pull the dough inward alongside it and repeat around the entire pie.

Scalloped edge close-up.

 Edge #3

Use a teaspoon to indent arch marks along the edge. Make a large indentation and a smaller one inside it and continue around the pie.

 Edge #4

Use scissors to cut slits along the edge, about 1/2-inch apart. Then lift a slit up and skip the next one, repeating around the pie.

 Edge #5

Cut mini leaves out of pie dough using a cutter and then use the tip of a table knife to mark veins. Leaf cutters are easy to find in baking stores, especially now, right before Fall.

Layer the leaves around the crust, using a touch of water as glue.

 Edge #6

Cut  even-sized strips of pie dough, about 1/4-inch wide. It's okay to work in sections so you don't have to cut strips long enough to reach around the entire pie.

Put three of the strips together by pinching them at the top,  and braid them.

Brush a bit of water on the edge of the pie and place the braid on it. Use a knife to square off the ends and then keep adding braid segments around the entire pie.

Dan's Raisin Pie

Lately there's been a lot of "pie talk" at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. We just held a homemade pie sale to benefit the Wednesday Community Meal and in planning for that, we "talked pie" with a lot of people, asking "what's your favorite kind?"

Cherry, Apple, Chocolate Cream and Strawberry-Rhubarb definitely led the pack, but in asking, I discovered there's quite a few old-fashioned pies I'd never made before like Chess Pie, Shoo-Fly Pie and Raisin Pie.

The latter is a pie that my friend Dan told me he loves but hasn't tasted in 60-years! ... That is until yesterday, when I presented him with one at the Wednesday Community Meal where he volunteers.

You see, Dan, who is in his 70's, told me that his grandmother made the most delicious Raisin Pie and he sure would love to taste one again. It was a fond 60-year-old taste memory that he hadn't forgotten and I knew I had to make him one.

So I researched Raisin Pies online and devised a recipe. I have to admit that I was skeptical about how Raisin Pie would taste but it's very good. You boil the raisins in water so that they soften and break down and the texture becomes more jam-like. And, the filling wasn't too sweet. It is rich though and a small slice is enough to satisfy.

The best part though is that Dan loved his pie. For him, that Raisin Pie was a taste-time-machine.

And, as an added surprise, I found out that Dean, who serves coffee alongside Dan on Wednesdays, also loves Raisin Pie and he got to have a slice. They are both dear to me and it was a joy to see them so happy.

Raisin Pie fans Dean and Dan serving coffee at the Wednesday Community Meal.

Here's the recipe:

Raisin Pie
(makes one 9-inch pie)

2 1/4 cups raisins
2 cups water
1/3 cup dark-brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon butter
1 recipe pastry for a 9-inch double crust pie

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a saucepan, combine the raisins and the water and heat until boiling. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring and keeping and eye on them. Reduce the heat to low.

Blend together the dark-brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and salt and add to the hot raisins. Increase the heat to medium and cook and stir until the syrup is clear.

Remove from the heat and stir in the vinegar and butter.

Adding the butter and apple cider vinegar to the cooked raisin filling.

Cool slightly and pour into a pastry lined 9-inch pan. Cover with the top crust and seal the edges and cut slits in the top crust. Or, top with a lattice crust.

Cutting strips for a lattice top-crust.

A Raisin Pie ready for the oven.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the crust is done and golden brown. Let the pie cool before slicing and serving.

A just-baked Raisin Pie.

A slice of Raisin Pie.

A Garden Excursion And Chocolate Cream Pie

With my brother Josh at the Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanical Garden.

 

One of the highlights of my recent trip to Los Angeles to visit my brothers was a Sunday afternoon outing to the Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanical Garden with my brother Josh and his boyfriend Edward.

 

The 127 acre garden and historical site is located in the city of Arcadia and jointly operated by the Los Angeles Arboretum Foundation and the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation and features plant collections from all over the world.

Josh and Edward in front of the Queen Anne Cottage at the garden. The Victorian style house was built in 1885. 

 

Banana

Black Pepper

Okra

 

Walking through the gardens was so lovely. It wasn't crowded at all and because it was a weekend, there were multiple wedding parties scattered throughout the gardens which was fun to see.

 

When we returned to my brothers' house we made dinner and decided that we should make another sweet treat for dessert. I searched online and found a Chocolate Cream Pie recipe on the Food.Com website that we all decided was the thing to make.

 

The recipe had few ingredients, came together in minutes and needed just an hour or so to chill before serving. 

 

We topped slices of the pie with freshly whipped cream and we all loved it. The easy recipe is a definite keeper. 

 

So after a delightful garden excursion, we enjoyed pie, an episode of "Charlie's Angels" and the 1959 sci-fi horror film "The Killer Shrews." So much fun and for me, the perfect way to end a great day. 

 

 

Chocolate Cream Pie
(makes 1 9-inch pie)

First, make and bake a 9-inch pie crust. I used my favorite shortening crust recipe.

Pie Crust: 
1 1/2 cups flour
2 /3 cups vegetable shortening
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar. Add Crisco and using your fingers, break it into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs with some large pieces remaining.
Add the water, just a few tablespoons at a time until the dough is moist enough to pull together into a ball. Roll out on a floured surface for the bottom crust.

Place the dough in a pie pan and crimp the edges. Bake for 5 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes or until the crust is set and golden brown.

The pie crust baking.

 

Filling:

 

1 2/3 cups water
3 tablespoons cornstarch
5 tablespoons cocoa
1 (14 ounce) can eagle brand sweetened condensed milk
3 egg yolks, beaten
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla


Directions:

 

In a medium-sized saucepan, use a whisk to mix the water and cornstarch and cocoa until smooth.
 

Stir in Eagle Brand milk and the three egg yolks. 

My brother John helping me with the hardest part of the recipe —  releasing all of the sweetened condensed milk from the can.

 

Cook the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly until it becomes thick. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla.

 

Let the mixture cool for 5 minutes before pouring into the baked pie shell. 

 

Let the pie cool at room temperature for 15 minutes before transferring to the refrigerator. Let the pie cool completely before slicing and serving. 

 

After the pie cools completely, it's easy to slice and serve.

 

 

Top servings with lightly sweetened whipped cream.

 

Savory Pies

Savory pies are crowd pleasing and offer a nice respite from the holiday onslaught of sweet treats.

To make them all you need is a good pie crust recipe (see recipe below) and the savory filling of your choice.

I recently made a chicken pot pie and a beef shepherd's pie but you could keep the filling vegetarian or even go the Irish route and use lamb.

When I use chicken, I like to buy breasts on the bone and boil them in seasoned water until they are tender and falling off the bone. Then all you have to do is pull the meat off the bone and it's ready to add to your filling.

When I use beef, I buy a lean cut of steak like sirloin or top round and cut it into small 1/2 inch pieces. Season the meat liberally with salt and coarse black pepper and saute it olive oil over high heat until it is well-browned. Pour in some red wine or beef stock to deglaze the pan and continue cooking on low heat until the meat is very tender. Then, you can add your vegetables.

The vegetables I like to use are onion, garlic, celery, carrot, potato and peas. Once you have your meat and vegetables cooked together and seasoned (you can't go wrong with a little sage, rosemary and thyme), dissolve a heaping tablespoon of cornstarch in two cups of broth and add it to your filling. Bring this to a boil, stirring constantly until the liquid becomes a creamy sauce. Remove the filling from the heat and let it cool to room temperature before putting it in the pie crust.

Chicken pot pie filling.

Beef filling for a shepherd's pie.

Now for the crust:
You can make a double crust pot pie or you can make a traditional shepherd's pie by skipping the top crust and topping it with mashed potatoes.
If you make the full pie crust recipe below, you'll have enough dough for an extra big bottom crust if you make shepherd's pie. For Christmas Eve, I rolled the pie dough into a large enough rectangle to fill a  9x13 baking dish.

My finished Christmas Eve shepherd's pie.

Bake the savory pies in a 350 degree oven for 40 to 55 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling. It's a good idea to bake the pies on a sheetpan covered with parchment paper or aluminum foil to keep the juices from spilling into your oven.

Basic Pie Crust
3 cups flour
1 cup Crisco
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup ice water

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar. Add Crisco and using your fingers, break it into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs with some large pieces remaining.

Add the water, just a few tablespoons at a time until the dough is moist enough to pull together into a ball. 

Mini Berry Tarts

Homemade mini berry tarts are delicious, pretty and totable which makes them the perfect sweet to pack for summer picnics.

The tarts are simple to make. Heating the berries and thickening them with a bit of cornstarch before filling the tarts is the real trick in making these easy because it keeps the berry juice from running all over the place. A subtle pink glaze adds a nice touch.


Mini Berry Tarts
(makes 10 to 12 tarts)

Crust
 2 1/2  cups flour
3/4 cup Crisco
1/2 teaspoon salt
 3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup ice water

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar. Add Crisco and using your fingers, break it into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs with some large pieces remaining.

Add the water, just a few tablespoons at a time until the dough is moist enough to pull together into a ball. Roll dough on a floured board until it's 1/4 inch thick and use a 3-inch square cutter or a knife to cut squares to make an equal number of top and bottom crusts.

The mixture before adding the water.

Add just enough water to form a ball.

Filling
(You'll end up with extra filling but that's okay. Keep it in the fridge and use it instead of store bought jam on pancakes, toast and sandwiches.)


1 16 oz bag mixed berries, frozen
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
pinch of sea salt
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice

In a saucepan, heat berries, sugar, vanilla and sea salt until it comes to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Dissolve cornstarch in lemon juice and add to berries, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and cool completely before assembling tarts.

Let the filling cool completely before assembling the tarts.

To assemble:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.


Lay bottom crusts on a parchment lined sheet pan. Use your finger to dab a bit of milk or cream around the edges to help seal crust. Scoop about 2 tablespoons of filling into the center of each bottom crust. Top with the top crust and press to seal edge. Use a fork to put indentations around crust and poke holes in top to allow steam to vent.

Bottom crust

The bottom crust with milk around the edges and filling in the center.

This tart is ready to bake!

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Let cool for 10 minutes and drizzle with glaze.

Glaze
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons milk
The smallest drop of pink food coloring

In a small bowl combine all ingredients and stir until smooth and glossy. Drizzle over warm tarts.

Apple Pie Two Ways

My husband's birthday apple pie.

I had a catering job last Sunday on my husband's birthday. So as a peace offering, I asked him to name his dessert and I'd make it.

After a full week of thinking about it, he chose apple pie.

So here's the recipe for my husband's belated birthday treat, and a variation for making mini Dutch apple pies for a crowd.

I used to make individual hand pies for entertaining, but I find these pies made in cupcake papers much easier.


Happy Birthday Joe!

Mini Dutch apple pies are great for entertaining because they're easy to transport and serve.

Apple Pie Two Ways 
makes one 10-inch apple pie or 12 mini Dutch apple pies


Filling
4 large Golden Delicious Apples
3 large Granny Smith Apples
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/3 cup flour

For the filling, I like a mixture of Golden Delicious and Granny Smith Apples

Peel and slice apples. For a single pie make larger slices, for the mini Dutch apple pies, make a smaller dice. Toss apple slices with lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, sugar and flour. Set aside.

The apple filling for a large single pie. For mini Dutch apple pies, cut the apples into smaller pieces.

Crust
3 cups flour
1 cup Crisco
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup ice water

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar. Add Crisco and using your fingers, break it into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs with some large pieces remaining.

Your hands are the best tools for mixing the Crisco into the flour mixture. When it's mixed enough, it should resemble coarse crumbs.

Add the water, just a few tablespoons at a time until the dough is moist enough to pull together into a ball. Divide dough in half and roll out on a floured surface for the bottom and top crusts. Or, for mini Dutch pies, use a 4-inch round cutter to cut multiple bottom crusts.

When rolling out the dough, keep moving it on your board to prevent sticking. Also, keep rounding up the edges so that you end up with an even sized circle.

To Assemble
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Single Pie

Fold bottom crust in half and lay in pie plate. Fill with apple filling and cover with top crust. Seal edges around pie and crimp with fingers.

Poke holes to allow steam to escape during baking. Bake for 20 minutes and reduce temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for another 20 to 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

A pie ready for it's top crust.

Ready for the oven.

Mini Dutch Apple Pies

Line muffin tins with cupcake papers. Gently lay 4-inch round pieces of dough into papers. Fill each with about 2 tablespoons of filling. Set in the fridge to chill while making crumb topping.

Crumb Topping
2/3 cup old fashioned oatmeal
1/3 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons softened butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup flour

In a bowl, combine oatmeal, cinnamon, flour and sugar. Using fingers, break butter into mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Top each mini pie with crumb topping. Bake at 375 degrees for 16 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

A mini pie ready for it's crumb topping.