Chocolate Pudding Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 Pie Crust
• 1 3.4 oz pkg Vanilla instant pudding pie filling
• 1 3.9 oz pkg chocolate instant pudding and pie filling
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 pt. Vanilla ice-cream softened
• Whipped topping
• 1 square semi-sweet chocolate

 Directions:

1. Prepare Pie Crust.
2. Blend pudding mixes and milk
3. Fold in spices and ice-cream.
4. Spoon mixture into prepared pie crust and freeze for at least 4 hours.
5. Decorate: Top with Whipped topping Dollops and shaved chocolate curls.

Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients: 

• 1 Pie Crust
• 1 can (15 oz) Pumpkin pie filling 
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup Granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/s tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups (12 oz can) evaporated milk

Directions:

1. Prepare Pie Crust
2. Preheat oven to 425 F
3. Combine ingredients and mix well.
4. Bake for 15 minutes, and reduce heat to 350 F.
5. Bake for 50-55 more minutes or until done. (knife inserted in center of pie comes up clean)
6. Cool,
7. Enjoy

 

Lemon Chiffon Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 Pie Crust.
• 1 (14oz) can Sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups sour cream
• 2 tbsp powdered pre-sweetened lemonade mix
• 4 drops yellow food coloring
• 8 oz frozen whipped topping thawed.
  

Directions:

1.  Prepare Pie Crust.
2. Combine the milk, sour cream, lemonade mix, and food coloring into a large bowl and mix well. 
3. Gently fold in the whipped topping until blended.
4. Spoon into pie crust and Chill for 2 hours before serving.

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Old Fashioned Pumpkin Pie

 

Ingredients

• 2 cups of pumpkin pulp purée from a sugar pumpkin* or from canned pumpkin purée
• 1 1/2 cup heavy cream or 1 12 oz. can of evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs plus the yolk of a third egg
• 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest
• 1 good crust 

Direction

 

• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Mix sugars, salt, and spices, and lemon zest in a large bowl. 
• Beat the eggs and add to the bowl. 
• Stir in the pumpkin purée. 
• Stir in cream. 
• Whisk all together until well incorporated.
•  Pour into pie shell and bake at 425°F for 15 minutes. 
• After 15 minutes reduce the temperature to 350°F. Bake 40-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
• Cool on a wire rack for 2 hours.

Serve with whipped cream.


* To make pumpkin purée from a sugar pumpkin: start with a small-medium sugar pumpkin, cut out the stem and scrape out the insides, discard (save the seeds, of course). Cut into sections and steam in a saucepan with a couple inches of water at the bottom, until soft. Scoop out the pulp from the skin. Or you can bake whole or halved in a 350°F oven until fork tender. Optional - put pulp through a food mill or chinois to make extra smooth.

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Old Fashioned Apple Pie

Ingredients

Crust Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1/2 cup finely ground blanched almonds or almond flour (can substitute 1/2 cup flour if you don't have almonds)
16 Tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes, chilled in freezer for at least 15 minutes
1 teaspoon salt
1 heaping teaspoon brown sugar
3 to 6 Tbsp water, very cold

Filling Ingredients
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 pounds of 1/4-1/2 inch thick slices of peeled and cored good cooking apples such as Granny Smith, Pippin, Golden Delicious
1 1/2 tablespoons brandy
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Egg Wash
1 large egg yolk
1 Tbsp cream

Directions

• In a food processor, combine flour, almonds, salt and brown sugar, pulse to mix. 
• Add butter and pulse 6 to 8 times, until mixture resembles coarse meal, with pea size pieces of butter. 
• Add water 1 Tablespoon at a time, pulsing until mixture just begins to clump together. If you pinch some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it's ready, if not, add a little more water and pulse again.
• Remove dough from machine and place on a clean surface. 
• Carefully shape into 2 discs. Do not over-knead the dough! You should still be able to see little bits of butter in the dough. These bits of butter are what will allow the result crust to be flaky.
• Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 375°F.
• Combine sugar, flour and spices in large bowl. 
• Use your hands and mix in the apples so they are well coated, then add brandy and vanilla extract.
• Remove one crust disk from the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes.
• Sprinkle some flour on top of the disk. Roll out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to a 12 inch circle; about 1/8 of an inch thick. As you roll out the dough, use a metal spatula to check if the dough is sticking to the surface below. Add a few sprinkles of flour if necessary to keep the dough from sticking. 
• Gently fold in half. Place on to a 9-inch pie plate, lining up the fold with the center of the pan.
• Gently unfold and press down to line the pie dish with the dough.
• Spoon in apple filling, mounding slightly in center.
• Roll out second disk of dough, as before. 
• Gently turn over onto the top of the apples in the pie. 
• Pinch top and bottom of dough rounds firmly together. 
• Trim excess dough with kitchen shears, leaving a 3/4 inch overhang. 
• Fold dough under itself so that the edge of the fold is flush with the edge of the pan. Flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with a fork.
• Stir yolk and cream in small bowl to blend. 
• Brush over top of pie. 
• Cut slits in top crust to allow steam to escape. 
• Bake pie until crust begins to turn golden, about 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350°F. 
• Tent the rims with aluminum foil or a pie protector if the edges are browning too quickly. Bake until crust is golden and juices are bubbling, anywhere from an additional 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the type of apples you are using. 
• Transfer to rack; let stand 1 hour. 
• Serve pie warm or at room temperature.

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Perfect Pie Crust

All Butter Crust for Sweet and Savory Pies (Pâte Brisée)

 

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
• 1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 6 to 8 Tbsp ice water

Direction

• Cut the sticks of butter into 1/2-inch cubes and place in the freezer for 15 minutes to an hour (the longer the better) so that they become thoroughly chilled.

Dough is ready to shape.

• Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor; pulse to mix. Add butter and pulse 6 to 8 times, until mixture resembles coarse meal, with pea size pieces of butter. Add ice water 1 Tbsp at a time, pulsing until mixture just begins to clump together. If you pinch some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it's ready. If the dough doesn't hold together, add a little more water and pulse again.

• Remove dough from machine and place in a mound on a clean surface. Gently shape into 2 discs. Knead the dough just enough to form the discs, do not over-knead. You should be able to see little bits of butter in the dough. These small chunks of butter are what will allow the resulting crust to be flaky. Sprinkle a little flour around the discs. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour, and up to 2 days.

• Remove one crust disk from the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes in order to soften just enough to make rolling out a bit easier. Roll out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch circle; about 1/8 of an inch thick. As you roll out the dough, check if the dough is sticking to the surface below. If necessary, add a few sprinkles of flour under the dough to keep the dough from sticking. Carefully place onto a 9-inch pie plate. Gently press the pie dough down so that it lines the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Use a pair of kitchen scissors to trim the dough to within 1/2 inch of the edge of the pie dish.

• Add filling to the pie.

• Roll out second disk of dough, as before. Gently place onto the top of the filling in the pie. Pinch top and bottom of dough rounds firmly together. Trim excess dough with kitchen shears, leaving a 3/4 inch overhang. Fold the edge of the top piece of dough over and under the edge of the bottom piece of dough, pressing together. Flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with a fork. Score the top of the pie with four 2-inch long cuts, so that steam from the cooking pie can escape.

All Butter Crust with Almonds

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
• 1/2 cup finely ground blanched almonds or almond flour
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 heaping teaspoon brown sugar
• 6 to 8 Tbsp ice water, very cold

Follow directions as for the All Butter Crust Pâte Brisée, but with the above ingredients. Include the ground almonds in with the flour and the salt and sugar in step 2 above.

To Pre-Bake a Pie Crust

If your recipe calls for a pre-baked crust, as many custard pie recipes do, follow all the steps above until you get to the point where it says to put in the filling. Note that you will need to make only a half recipe if you are only doing a bottom crust. Freeze the crust it for at least a half hour, until chilled. This is an important step in pre-baking. Otherwise the crust will slip down the sides.

Preheat your oven to 350°F. When the pie crust is sufficiently chilled, line the pie crust with parchment paper, wax paper, or aluminum foil. Fill at least two-thirds full with pie weights - dry beans, rice, or stainless-steel pie weights. Bake with weights for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, cool a few minutes and carefully remove pie weights. Poke small holes in the bottom of the pie crust with a fork and return to oven (without the weights) and cook for an additional 10 minutes, until the crust is golden. Cool completely before filling. You may need to tent the edges of the pie with aluminum foil when you bake your pie, to keep the edges from getting too dried out and burnt.

Combination Butter and Shortening Crust

Ingredients for one double-crust 9 inch or 10 inch pie:

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 cup (a stick and a half) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
• 1/2 cup of all-vegetable shortening (8 Tbsp)
• 6-8 Tablespoons ice water

• Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor; pulse to mix. 
• Add the butter and pulse 4 times. 
• Add shortening in tablespoon sized chunks, and pulse 4 more times. The mixture should resemble coarse cornmeal, with butter bits no bigger than peas. Sprinkle 6 tablespoons of ice water over flour mixture. Pulse a couple times. If you pinch some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it's ready. If the dough doesn't hold together, keep adding water, a tablespoon at a time, pulsing once after each addition, until the mixture just begins to clump together.
• Remove dough from machine and place in a mound on a clean surface. 
• Divide the dough into 2 balls and flatten each into 4 inch wide disks. Do not over-knead the dough! Dust the disks lightly with flour, wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate for at least an hour, or up to 2 days before rolling out.
• After the dough has chilled in the refrigerator for an hour, you can take it out to roll. If it is too stiff, you may need to let it sit for 5-10 minutes at room temperature before rolling. 
• Sprinkle a little flour on a flat, clean work surface and on top of the disk of dough you intend to roll out.  
• Using a rolling pin, apply light pressure while rolling outwards from the center of the dough. Every once in a while you may need to gently lift under the dough to make sure it is not sticking. You have a big enough piece of dough when you place the pie tin or pie dish upside down on the dough and the dough extends by at least 2 inches all around.
• When the dough has reached the right size, gently fold it in half. Lift up the dough and place it so that the folded edge is along the center line of the pie dish. 
• Gently unfold. Do not stretch the dough.
• If you are only making a single crust pie, use a pair of kitchen scissors to trim the dough to within 1/2 inch of the lip of the dish. Tuck the overhang underneath itself along the edge of the pie dish. Use your fingers in a pinching motion, or the tines of a fork to crimple the edge of the pie crust. 
• If you are making a double crust pie, roll out the second disk of dough. Gently place onto the top of the filling in the pie. Use a kitchen scissors to trim the overhang to an inch over. Fold the edge of the top piece of dough over and under the edge of the bottom piece of dough, pressing together. Finish the double crust by pressing against the edges of the pie with your finger tips or with a fork.
• Use a sharp knife to cut vents into the top of the pie crust, so the steam has a place to escape while the pie is cooking.   
•  

Optional Before scoring, you may want to paint the top of your crust with an egg wash (this will make a nice finish).

Egg Wash

A lovely coating for a pie can be achieved with a simple egg wash.

• 1 Tbsp heavy cream, half and half, or milk
• 1 large egg yolk

Beat egg yolk with cream and brush on the surface of the pie with a pastry brush.