Happy Pie
Note: This post turned out *really* long. But you get 3 recipies for one. Good value for your reading pleasure.
Pie = Happy
I love pie. Which is a good thing considering most people love pie too. It makes me real popular around holiday time. The only kind of pie I'm not really a huge fan of is coconut cream. Even the nut pies can be good if you leave out the nuts...which is - I'm pretty sure what a Chess Pie is. Fruit pies are my favorite. I can eat them and feel virtuous. Its fruit!
Pie is also what you make for people you love. Anyone can buy a pie. Cake comes in boxes. But real pie -- oh, be still my heart! Favorite pie memories (come on - you know you have some too!)
But for many years I have struggled with pie crust. For many other years, I have given up and used the Pillsbury “roll it into your pan” - which is not a terrific pie crust but has a SIGNIFICANT convenience factor. I heartily recommend it if its just the crust standing in between you and homemade pie.
But tonight I made a pie. It was supposed to be for my preggo SIL Aunt Cake. I found out that she really like crumble top - which is a big fave of mine too. But by the time I got in touch with her to say “Hey, I made you a pie!” it was going to be well past Child's bedtime. And her schedule tomorrow was also going to be crazy. So I ate pie without her.
Sue me. I'll make another one. You can too. Here's how. You need a crust, filling and top.
Crust (makes enough for a 2 crust pie - top and bottom - or only used half and leave the rest for another pie day)
2 ½ c flour
½ c shortening - do not use “butter flavor”
½ c butter (one stick) - cut into cubes
1 tsp salt
ice water - approx ¼ c.
In the bowl of your food processor, put the flour and the salt. Pulse once or twice to combine. Add shortening in 4-5 blobs. Pulse to cut in. Add butter cubes and pulse again, but for less time. You should still see blobs of butter here and there. Drizzle water in while motor is running and stop when it is just starting to form a mass.
Or be like me: add too much water, curse the wet mess that you have created. Turn it out onto a heavily floured rimmed cookie sheet. Turn over to get a nice coating of flour on the mass. Gently press out until about 1” thick. Fold into thirds. Press again until 1” thick. Turn 90 degrees and fold into thirds again. Pat down again. Basically, I was trying to work some extra flour in to absorb the extra moisture, without developing the gluten, which is what makes a tough pie crust.
Cut into halves, wrap tightly in plastic wrap or waxed paper and chill at least 30 minutes.
Now, while the food processor is out and dirty anyway:
Crumble Top:
Note: you can skip the bottom crust and just make a crumble with this recipe. Advantage - you do not have to make a round pie. Convenient when you have to serve a large number and do not want to make more than one dish. Disadvantage...its not pie. Pie must be round. Its a math thing.
2/3 c flour
½ c brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
½ c butter (one stick) - cut into cubes
1 c oats
Put flour, sugar and cinnamon into the food processor and blitz briefly to combine. Add butter and oats and pulse until combined.
This can easily be made without the machinery. Just dump everything into a bowl and rub between your fingers until combined. Chill until ready to top....whatever. This makes enough for 1 pie or an 8x8 crumble. Double for a 9x13 pan.
There are loads of recipes available for fillings. A straightforward apple is always good. I've been making mixed fruit which has been really awesome. Mixed fruit makes me happy, hence the title of this post. I've been having a bunch of fruit wandering around waiting to be used up.
See? Its not gluttony, its thrift!
Filling
Here's the gist.
The biggest challenge of a Happy Pie (aka Mixed Fruit) is how much do you need. I'm calling this the “Duh” method. Get out everything that needs to be used up and your pie pan. Peel, chop, core directly into the pan. I like chunks about the size of my thumbnail. Make sure you have a few more apples than you think you need off to the side. The apples are your make-weights. You want the level of prepared fruit in your pan to be about 1” taller than the pan to account for shrinkage during cooking.
Why am I dancing around the amount of fruit question? Because honestly, in my years of pie making, while lots of pans are the same diameter, many have different depths. I've got some shallow cheapies and my favorite, a whopper from Bennington Pottery that takes twice as much. You might even be a novice who picked up a cake pan by accident. This should not stand in your way.
If you are making a Happy Pie, its because you have a-little-bit-of-this-and-a-little-bit-of-that. Fruit also varies in size. Cut and mix directly in your target vessel. Then pour into a bowl to hold it for a bit while you rinse, dry and line your pan with crust. (Because there is no fat, this is a quick job.) The juices need some time to develop and mingle anyway.
Fruit: Apples, cherries, peach, nectarines, raisins, craisins, blueberries, raspberries... whatever!
Tonight's was Apple, cherry, nectarine, golden raisin, orange & guava (I use a little juice to soak the raisins).
Juice of one lemon, lime or ½ orange - keeps the apples from turning colors
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp corn starch
Putting it all together.
Preheat oven to 425. Roll out your crust on a floured surface. You want it to be about an additional 2” larger than the outside diameter of your pan. Patch and curse as necessary. Sling fruit in. If you are using a top crust, dot the fruit with 1-2 tbsp butter. There is enough butter in the crumble topping that you do not need to do this if you are using the crumble topping. I know that last sentence sounded repetitive. But when I left the second “crumble top” off it sounded like an incomplete sentence. And if you've stuck with me this long through this posting
- you deserve a little consideration.
Put the pie on a low rack in the oven (2nd from the bottom in mine) for 20 minutes at 425, then drop to 350 and bake for another 30-40 minutes. Put the pie on a foil lined sheet pan if you dont feel like scrubbing the oven; juice will likely bubble over. Pie will need to cool for 30-40 minutes before you can eat it.
Now: GO MAKE PIE!
PS. Pie for breakfast? Yep. S'ok. Its fruit after all.
Pie = Happy
I love pie. Which is a good thing considering most people love pie too. It makes me real popular around holiday time. The only kind of pie I'm not really a huge fan of is coconut cream. Even the nut pies can be good if you leave out the nuts...which is - I'm pretty sure what a Chess Pie is. Fruit pies are my favorite. I can eat them and feel virtuous. Its fruit!
Pie is also what you make for people you love. Anyone can buy a pie. Cake comes in boxes. But real pie -- oh, be still my heart! Favorite pie memories (come on - you know you have some too!)
- Making the American Trifecta: Pecan, Apple and Pumpkin for a Pre-Thanksgiving Feast for the International Grad students at my parents house. The pumpkin was particularly confusing for them because they treat the gourd as a vegetable. (Imagine someone bringing out a big dish of mashed potatoes for dessert. It would be a little weird too.) I brought the apple home, there were 2 slices of pecan left, so my parents got that and UUFG brought the pumpkin to Vermont, where my uncle dispensed of a 1/3 pie before my sister could finish bringing the rest of the items in from the car.
- One year, sister UUFG and father both requested pie instead of cake for a joint birthday. They got a Lemon Meringue and a Blueberry.
- Speaking of blueberry. It was my father in law's favorite. I made a crumble top with crushed animal crackers instead of oats that my MIL still remembers from time to time. Hmm. I should make that again.
- Child and I have made Key Lime a couple of times.
- Just this weekend, my MIL and James pitched in together on a Chocolate Cream with a PB/Graham Cracker crust that has to be eaten to be believed.
- A few years ago, I found out that my other SIL (currently in Florida) loves homemade apple pie. Hates the gluey clumps that you get in store bought. So whenever she is here, I try to make her one. Don't always succeed, but its always on my mind.
But for many years I have struggled with pie crust. For many other years, I have given up and used the Pillsbury “roll it into your pan” - which is not a terrific pie crust but has a SIGNIFICANT convenience factor. I heartily recommend it if its just the crust standing in between you and homemade pie.
But tonight I made a pie. It was supposed to be for my preggo SIL Aunt Cake. I found out that she really like crumble top - which is a big fave of mine too. But by the time I got in touch with her to say “Hey, I made you a pie!” it was going to be well past Child's bedtime. And her schedule tomorrow was also going to be crazy. So I ate pie without her.
Sue me. I'll make another one. You can too. Here's how. You need a crust, filling and top.
Crust (makes enough for a 2 crust pie - top and bottom - or only used half and leave the rest for another pie day)
2 ½ c flour
½ c shortening - do not use “butter flavor”
½ c butter (one stick) - cut into cubes
1 tsp salt
ice water - approx ¼ c.
In the bowl of your food processor, put the flour and the salt. Pulse once or twice to combine. Add shortening in 4-5 blobs. Pulse to cut in. Add butter cubes and pulse again, but for less time. You should still see blobs of butter here and there. Drizzle water in while motor is running and stop when it is just starting to form a mass.
Or be like me: add too much water, curse the wet mess that you have created. Turn it out onto a heavily floured rimmed cookie sheet. Turn over to get a nice coating of flour on the mass. Gently press out until about 1” thick. Fold into thirds. Press again until 1” thick. Turn 90 degrees and fold into thirds again. Pat down again. Basically, I was trying to work some extra flour in to absorb the extra moisture, without developing the gluten, which is what makes a tough pie crust.
Cut into halves, wrap tightly in plastic wrap or waxed paper and chill at least 30 minutes.
Now, while the food processor is out and dirty anyway:
Crumble Top:
Note: you can skip the bottom crust and just make a crumble with this recipe. Advantage - you do not have to make a round pie. Convenient when you have to serve a large number and do not want to make more than one dish. Disadvantage...its not pie. Pie must be round. Its a math thing.
2/3 c flour
½ c brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
½ c butter (one stick) - cut into cubes
1 c oats
Put flour, sugar and cinnamon into the food processor and blitz briefly to combine. Add butter and oats and pulse until combined.
This can easily be made without the machinery. Just dump everything into a bowl and rub between your fingers until combined. Chill until ready to top....whatever. This makes enough for 1 pie or an 8x8 crumble. Double for a 9x13 pan.
There are loads of recipes available for fillings. A straightforward apple is always good. I've been making mixed fruit which has been really awesome. Mixed fruit makes me happy, hence the title of this post. I've been having a bunch of fruit wandering around waiting to be used up.
See? Its not gluttony, its thrift!
Filling
Here's the gist.
The biggest challenge of a Happy Pie (aka Mixed Fruit) is how much do you need. I'm calling this the “Duh” method. Get out everything that needs to be used up and your pie pan. Peel, chop, core directly into the pan. I like chunks about the size of my thumbnail. Make sure you have a few more apples than you think you need off to the side. The apples are your make-weights. You want the level of prepared fruit in your pan to be about 1” taller than the pan to account for shrinkage during cooking.
Why am I dancing around the amount of fruit question? Because honestly, in my years of pie making, while lots of pans are the same diameter, many have different depths. I've got some shallow cheapies and my favorite, a whopper from Bennington Pottery that takes twice as much. You might even be a novice who picked up a cake pan by accident. This should not stand in your way.
If you are making a Happy Pie, its because you have a-little-bit-of-this-and-a-little-bit-of-that. Fruit also varies in size. Cut and mix directly in your target vessel. Then pour into a bowl to hold it for a bit while you rinse, dry and line your pan with crust. (Because there is no fat, this is a quick job.) The juices need some time to develop and mingle anyway.
Fruit: Apples, cherries, peach, nectarines, raisins, craisins, blueberries, raspberries... whatever!
Tonight's was Apple, cherry, nectarine, golden raisin, orange & guava (I use a little juice to soak the raisins).
Juice of one lemon, lime or ½ orange - keeps the apples from turning colors
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp corn starch
Putting it all together.
Preheat oven to 425. Roll out your crust on a floured surface. You want it to be about an additional 2” larger than the outside diameter of your pan. Patch and curse as necessary. Sling fruit in. If you are using a top crust, dot the fruit with 1-2 tbsp butter. There is enough butter in the crumble topping that you do not need to do this if you are using the crumble topping. I know that last sentence sounded repetitive. But when I left the second “crumble top” off it sounded like an incomplete sentence. And if you've stuck with me this long through this posting
- you deserve a little consideration.
Put the pie on a low rack in the oven (2nd from the bottom in mine) for 20 minutes at 425, then drop to 350 and bake for another 30-40 minutes. Put the pie on a foil lined sheet pan if you dont feel like scrubbing the oven; juice will likely bubble over. Pie will need to cool for 30-40 minutes before you can eat it.
Now: GO MAKE PIE!
PS. Pie for breakfast? Yep. S'ok. Its fruit after all.