According to this publication from 1953, the old adage "the way to a man is through his stomach" was true! Particularly if you know how to make pie. While that wasn't my main motivation when I learned to make pie at a young age, the fact that it made my dad happy was part of the reason. And now my husband is oh-so-happy that I make pie whenever I have an excess of fruit. Since some people find this task intimidating, I thought I'd share some instructions and my favorite recipes.
Most of the work involved in making pie is in the crust, although preparing the fruit can also be painful depending on the type of fruit you use. Recently I made peach pie, so I include instructions for that, as well as my other favorites, blackberry and apple.
The next section goes into detail on making pie crust. While some people buy store-bought crusts, I do want to include these instructions because they are very easy AND the crust tastes waaaayyy better (and is better for you) than store-bought. But if you want to save time, I won't judge you!
In 1953 my Dad was diagnosed with a heart condition, so lard was no longer used in our house. At the time that was the main ingredient in pie crust. My Mom was instructed to use Wesson Oil for everything, so we obtained a Wesson Oil cookbook and our pie crust, as well as cookies and most other baked goods, were made with Wesson Oil. That's the only way I know how to make pie crust, so I include the recipe and some tips and tricks along with photos. You can also use canola oil or other brands of vegetable oil.
Wesson Oil Pie Crust Recipe
Double (Single) Crust
2 c flour (1-1/3 c)
1-1/2 tsp salt (1 tsp)
1/2 c Wesson Oil (1/3 c)
1/4 c milk (3 Tbsp)
Usually I make a double crust. I roll out the bottom and put it in the pie pan, then roll out the top crust and have it ready to go before preparing the fruit, as some fruits turn brown once you peel them.
Instructions:
Mix flour and salt together with a fork. If possible, measure the oil and milk in a single measuring cup, so they are somewhat mixed together before you add them to the flour/salt. I actually have a measuring cup I acquired just for this recipe!
Mix the pie crust with the fork, then with your hands until all the flour is absorbed. Minimize handling the dough as much as possible as the more you mix it, the tougher it becomes.
Roll the pie crust between two sheets of wax paper or clear wrap. Flip and straighten the lower paper as needed. Turn the paper to make sure you get the crust wide enough in all directions. If needed, trim extra parts to fill in holes, then re-roll. If needed, gently set the empty pie plate on top of the rolled out dough to make sure the crust is rolled out big enough. Tip: to keep the paper from sliding around on your counter, wipe it with a wet sponge or cloth, then place the paper on the damp counter.
Once the dough is rolled out completely, gently remove the top paper, put the pie pan upside down on top of the dough, flip it over with the dough on top, remove the paper, and gently fit it to the pie pan. Trim the edge with a knife. Don't worry if you need to "patch" it here and there, this crust will not end up showing (it's the top one you really care about!).
Fill the pie with fruit, dot the fruit with butter, and gently flip the top crust onto the pie. Trim the edges with a knife, and "flute" the edges with your fingers or press the tines of a fork to seal. The point of the crust edge is to try to keep the fruit juices from escaping as the pie is cooked.
In order for the steam to escape, cut slits in the top crust (I usually spell the letter of the type of pie, e.g. "P" for peach or "A" for apple.) Or you can be clever like my son, when motivated by his math teacher to bring a pie to class for extra credit on "Pi day":
Some people get fancy and sprinkle sugar or cinnamon-sugar on the crust, or use an egg wash to make it shiny when cooked. I usually don't bother, although that coarse white sugar adds a nice touch if you have it on hand.
It's worth the time to wrap the crust in foil before you cook it, or buy the pie shields specifically made for that purpose. You're supposed to leave them on until the last 15 minutes of baking, then remove them as you turn down the temperature of the oven. It saves burned crusts, and after all that work it's worth it when the pie comes out looking nice.
Last but not least, I inherited special plates to cook the pies on (see photo above left), to avoid spills on the bottom of the oven. There's nothing worse than burned fruit sugar smoking up the kitchen. The pie cooking plates have a hole in the center, so presumably they affect the cooking differently than using a cookie sheet. They still get burned fruit on them, but at least you can clean them easier than the bottom of your oven. And if your fruit is juicy, it will likely escape your crust!
Below are my favorite fruit pie recipes, from the trusty Betty Crocker Cookbook, along with a few tips for fruit preparation. Betty includes recipes for 8, 9 and 10" pies, I include just the 9" recipe for simplicity.
For all recipes, heat oven to 425. Prepare crust as above, mix prepared fruit with recipe below, dot with butter, add top crust, flute or seal, trim edge. Cover crust edge, and cook for all but last 15 minutes. For the last 15 minutes, remove crust cover, turn oven down to 350, and continue baking. For apple pie, test for doneness by inserting fork gently, it should slide easily into fruit when done. Cool on rack or stove. Extra pies can be wrapped in foil and frozen for later enjoyment.
Betty says to cook apple pie for 40-50 minutes, berry pie for 45-50 minutes, and peach pie for 35-45 minutes. You can usually tell they're ready when the juice starts to bubble up and out of your crust!
Apple Pie
3/4 c sugar
1/4 c flour
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash salt
6 c thinly sliced pared tart apples (I use Granny Smith)
Tip: I store the peeled sliced apples in a bowl of water with a bit of lemon juice in it to keep them from browning. RIght before using, I drain the water and mix the apples with the ingredients above.
2 Tbsp butter or margarine
Tips for peeling apples:
If you do this a lot, it's worth investing in an apple peeler/corer/slicer.
Or...I watched a video that shows using a drill to spear the apple, then holding a peeler against it as the drill rotates. It actually works but requires two people.
Or...if your husband really likes apple pie, he might be willing to prep the apples as you prepare the crust and mix the ingredients for pie.
Or...do like my daughter, invite your friends over to help peel the 20 lbs of apples we buy at the Apple Fair, and pay them in pie!
Berry Pie
1/2 c sugar
1/3 c flour
1/2 t cinnamon
4 c fresh berries (if frozen, thaw and remove extra juice or you'll end up with berry SOUP like I once did)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp butter or margarine
Tips for freezing berries:
If you're lucky and have access to berries for picking, you will likely gather berries over the season. I typically freeze them and then use them later in the year for pie or jam/jelly. To freeze berries, it works well to wash them, drain them, then spread them in a single layer on a cookie sheet with edges (jelly roll pan). Freeze them, then put them in a ziploc bag for long-term storage. This way you can remove just the amount of berries you need since they won't be stuck together or frozen into blocks. I recommend thawing the berries before using them in pie, and draining the juice.
If you are using fresh berries, avoid washing them until right before using them as they go bad much faster after you wash them.
Peach Pie
5 c sliced fresh peaches
1 tsp lemon juice
1 c sugar
1/4 c flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp butter or margarine
Tips for peeling peaches (I did this in small batches):
Wash peaches.
Trim bad spots/bruises or score "X" in bottom of peach.
Blanch in boiling water for 2-3 minutes.
Remove with slotted spoon, put into ice bath for a few minutes or until you're ready to peel them.
Remove from ice bath and the peel should easily slip off.
I cut the peach into slices while still on the pit, then squeezed the peach into the bowl. For the peach waste, I separated the pits from the peel because I was composting and pits don't compost well! I added the lemon juice to each batch as the peaches turned brown otherwise.
Comments