We have been eating so much pie at our house lately because of my pie series that today I thought we should take a little break from eating pie and add a little whimsy. So here it is: Madalynn did the watercolor painting and I added the words. Trying to get through the pie feels like I have to encourage people to eat it like I would their veggies! I hope we don't have pie burn out before Thanksgiving even gets here. (My husband says that is impossible!) I thought this saying would be fun for this time of year. Madalynn's artwork alone is adorable. I need to work on my decorative writing skills to keep up with her. But, I have been practicing after reading this blog about writing with fake calligraphy. As you know from this post, and this one, I have been enjoying trying my hand at printables. This piece is one that you might want to put up on Thanksgiving as you enjoy the fruits of your pie baking labors. You can grab a little fun right here by clicking the button. And here is one more thing, just for fun! Maddy and I went to Hobby Lobby yesterday. All of their Christmas stuff was 50% off! I found this beautiful owl ornament that I couldn't resist! There were actually a number of owl ornaments to choose from, but this one was the most beautiful! Here is a similar one on Amazon. There! Now didn't that feel nice to take a little break? Come back tomorrow for a new pie recipe! You won't regret it. It is going to be one of my most requested pies, PECAN. I know that I already did the Upside-Down Pecan Apple version, but this one will be the real deal. See you then, and EAT YOUR PIE!
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Before we get to today's pie, I promised to show you the blackberry pie from yesterday. It was so delicious. I am going to be a blimp by the time this pie series is over. What was I thinking? I need to sign up for Bulu Box! I keep shoving pie off on my son's friends. I am going to have to start giving them away. This blackberry pie was really a good idea because it tastes so good. I used some of the leftover blackberry juices to spoon over the ice cream on top. Here is a delectable slide show. Today's pie is a special one. I have been looking forward to sharing it with you. It is a recipe I have had for many years. When my husband and I were first married, I took second place in a pie baking contest with this pie. So of course, wouldn't you know that it is the pie that would give me trouble. It is called Upside-Down Pecan Apple Pie. It is the upside down part that gave me trouble. It tasted wonderful though, with caramelized pecans, ultra flaky crust and the apples were perfectly cooked. The only problem is it fell apart when I flipped it and I couldn't show you what a pretty presentation it has when it is served. I had to make another one today and I figured out a trick to get it to flip perfectly every time and I was able to get my pictures. While the second pie was good, it just didn't quite measure up to the first one. I think I pulled it out of the oven a little too soon which caused the apples to be not quite tender enough and the crust not quite flaky enough. I was nervous after the first pie and I blew it. But, the second pie did look beautiful, so between the two pies, I think I can give you good directions for making this wonderful pie. Don't let my struggles discourage you. Over all the years that I have baked this pie, this is the one time it has given me any trouble, and I am going to give you tips to solve the problems that I had. First of all, here is a picture of the finished product. Being organized in the kitchen will help you to be successful when you make this pie. You need a 9" pie plate to start. Spray the bottom of it with cooking spray, then line it with a circle of parchment paper cut to fit the bottom. Then, you spread 1/4 c. of butter over the bottom of the plate, on top of the parchment paper. Next, place the pecan halves into the butter in a design radiating from the center, rounded side against the plate. It will look like this. Now place the dish in the refrigerator until you need it again. The butter needs to stiffen up. Next, prepare your apple pie filling. I will give you the details for that in the printable recipe, but here is a gallery of how it works. While the filling cools for a bit in the pot, make a batch of the pie dough. The recipe is found here. Now it is time to pull the pie dish with the pecans out of the refrigerator. Spread 2/3 of a cup of brown sugar over the pecans and press down lightly. Now you lay the bottom crust over the brown sugar. Next, pour in the pie filling, dot the filling with butter and sprinkle on more cinnamon. Then put on the top crust. Remember to crimp around the edges. Also, the top crust is going to become the bottom crust, so you don't want to put big slits in it or all of the juices will run out when you flip the pie over. I put a few fork pricks in it to let steam escape. Your oven is going to be set at 450 degrees to bake this pie for the first 10 min. Then you turn it down to 350 for another 30 min. The crust was so good and the apples were so perfectly cooked and the pecans were tender and caramelized. I just couldn't get the presentation that I wanted and that is major impact of this pie. That is when I decided that parchment paper on the bottom was the way to go. Years ago when I started making this pie, I knew nothing about parchment paper! What a genius invention. It worked like a charm. Now I will give this pie its own slide show! So, what are you waiting for? Give this pie a try! Click the button to find the recipe. You may have guessed from this post and this one, that I really love blackberries. Lucky for me, they have been on sale for some really good prices lately! I decided that showing you how to make blackberry pie would be a great idea because making a fresh fruit pie is a special skill to have! When you work with blackberries you need to take extra care because they are a tender fruit. I always precook my fruits for fruit pies because:
My mom always taught me to put 3 three slits in the top of the pie to let the steam escape. I usually do that, but sometimes I feel like getting a little fancy, so on this pie I only put one slit to leave room for a some decorations. I used a straw to cut circles to form the blackberries. I used a little soft butter to stick them in place. Then, I used some of the reserved blackberry juice to add the color. I cut out the leaf and stem with a knife and just left them their natural color. Sprinkle the entire pie with sugar. It gives the top crust a little sweet crunch. Here it is fresh out of the oven, juices bubbling! It is too hot to cut right now. As a fruit pie cools, the juices thicken, then when you slice it the fruit won't all spill out leaving parts of the pie fruitless. When it is just warm, you can slice it and serve it with ice cream. The crust recipe is available here, or I will soon put it on the printables page. In our next post of the Pie Series, I will show you a picture of the blackberry pie sliced! We have a lot of great recipes to look forward to. I hope you are following along and planning to try some of them out. Remember, Cyber Monday and Black Friday are coming. I am posting some great gift ideas at the end of each of my blog posts. I hope you will click through and check them out!
I have always loved to make pie. It confuses me when people say that pies are hard to make. After all, the saying is, "Easy as Pie"! I guess because I was taught to bake pie by my mother, who was always the world's best pie maker, I just thought that pie baking was supposed to be easy. My mother's pie crust recipe is the one I always use. It is simple and straightforward. No tricks or secret ingredients. It won my mom so many pie contests that they eventually just made her the judge to give someone else a chance.
Thanksgiving is obviously the time of year that most pies are baked. When I was growing up, my mom would make an array of about 8-10 pies for the holiday. With my own family over the years, it has been about the same. We usually meet with extended family, so there has to be lots of pie. Since we are getting so close to Thanksgiving, I have decided to do a Pie Series. I will share recipes for some of our most loved pies. We have to start with the basics, so today we are starting with the crust.
Here are a few more tips:
Here are a couple of alternative to eating raw dough when you have leftovers:
More from the Pie Series:
Part 2-Blackberry Pie |
Creators of Hot Cocoa Bombs! (copyrighted)
Author
Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to eleven! I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born. Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out! Read more about us here! Archives
June 2024
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