Getting into the groove of pie baking can be intimidating, but with a few helpful tips from our resident pie baker and chef instructor extraordinaire, Chef Lorelei, you can learn to love making pie and celebrate the day that brings people and dessert together~
Pie tips:
1. Don't rush! Pies are all about love, so take your time. Make the pie dough the day before; really give it a chance to rest.
2. Cold hands. When working with pie dough keep your hands as cold as possible, run your hands under cold water before you start.
3. Have fun and relax! Remember it's only pie, take a deep breath, put on your favorite music.
4. Add color. Grind up freeze dried berries in a clean coffee grinder, and add the powder to the pie dough. It's a fun way to add subtle color and flavor. Raspberries and strawberries work best in my opinion.
5. Whipped cream solves everything. A big dollop of vanilla scented whipped cream can hide a crack in a custard pie, or if your pie edges aren't as pretty as you hoped, it's easily hidden with some cream.
6. Everyone loves pie!
One 9-inch single pie crust
Ingredients
1¼ cups all-purpose flour (150 grams)
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
5 Tablespoons lard, cold cut into pieces *
2 to 4 Tablespoons ice water, as needed
¼ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
*Can use all butter if you prefer
Assembly
In a food processor, pulse together the flour and salt. Add butter and lard, pulse until the mixture forms pea-size pieces.
Add apple cider vinegar to the water. Slowly add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until the dough just comes together. It should be moist, but not wet.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gather into a ball. Flatten into a disk with the heel of your hand. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
Cranberry-Pear Pie
Crumble
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Mix all ingredients together and set aside
Pie filling
2 cup fresh cranberries
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon grated ginger
zest of 1 orange
1 ¾ pounds pears (Bosc or Bartlett), peeled, cored, thinly sliced or Apples
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough disc into a 12-inch circle. Drape the dough across a 9-inch pie plate. Dust off excess flour with a pastry brush, using it to nestle dough into the very corners of the pan. Using kitchen shears, trim the edge so that it overhangs by 1 ¼ inches all around. Fold overhang over itself to create a thick border that sits atop the rim of the pan. Crimp or shape the crust as desired. Chill pie shell while making the crumble and filling.
Crumble
In a small bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, and salt. Drizzle in the melted butter and stir together using a fork until mixture is thoroughly moistened and clumps of crumble have formed. Set aside.
Filling
Gently toss ingredients together and pour into a pie shell. Top with the crumble and bake for 15 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350. Bake until the top is golden and the juices are slowly bubbling (like lava) along the edges (place a piece of tin foil loosely over the top of the pie if it's browning too quickly).
