I have a bit of a challenge on my plate.
Somehow I convinced myself to enter the pie contest at work.
Never mind that I’ve never baked a pie in my life. Or that I’m frightened by the thought of making my own crust. And, as if one entry weren’t enough of a challenge, I registered to compete with two pies. What’s a girl to do? Cash prizes are up for grabs.
Between now and Jan. 8 I need to develop some skills or else my coworkers will laugh at me after spitting out my weak excuse for a dessert.
I recently interviewed Penryn mom Jennifer Roth about her new business, Jen’s Petite Pies. She makes cupcake-sized pies (that's her chocolate pecan pie in the photo), and makes a mean crust. Perhaps I should go back to her for some pointers...
I welcome any and all pie-related advice. If you’ve got a tried-and-true recipe you’re willing to share, please do so. What’s worked for you? Any horror stories? I want to hear all about it.
It helps to prepare the crust and before rolling it out, refrigerate it over night. Also, don't overwork the crust when you're rolling it out. DON'T use wheat or any other whole grain flour! If you're baking apple pie, which apple you use is crucial. Granny Smith's are good. Mushy apples make lousy pie filling. If you're not very confident, don't try double crust. One other idea is to try a graham-cracker crust pie (chocolate graham cracker crust is esp. good) for one of the pies. Fill it up with pudding and whipped cream and you'll get some smiles. Or, make it into a cheese cake topped with yummy fruit and you'll have a winner!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you've already got it all planned out by now, but here’s a couple ideas. I think the secret is butter... and LOTS of it! Martha’s crust and Betty’s Apple recipe for the inside has been a hit at our house! It’s so much easier if you work these buttery doughs while they are cool and don’t “work” them too much.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/pate-brisee-pie-dough
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes.aspx/fresh-apple-pie/880b6895-4081-4c52-bbc1-ab07f721785e
When I was a kid, I loved Grasshopper Pie. It’s been years since I’ve made one, but this looks like the recipe we used,
http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/196/Grasshopper_Pie11007.shtml
Best of luck!