Pies in the oven!

Happy mid-October everyone!! Fall is most definitely in the air- crisp temperatures, beautiful changing leaves and pies in the oven! I came home to visit while my mom took some vacation this week and we had made a promise that we’d back pies while I was here. I know you may find this hard to believe but the last two times I’ve attempted pie crust from scratch it has ended miserably, in tears. For some reason I could just not get it right! Using the Pillsbury ready-made fridge kind is easy and convenient but there is something to be said about making a homemade crust to serve to friends and family. So, I needed mom’s trusted advice and help!! At first we were going to each make an apple pie- one for her to keep, and one for me to bring home. After some thought though, it dawned on us that we most definitely needed to make our first pumpkin pie of the season! So, after doing some fun shopping and going out to lunch, we came back to begin pie production!

On the menu for today: FRENCH APPLE PIE and PUMPKIN PIE with HOMEMADE CRUST 

HOMEMADE CRUST (for two 9-inch pies)

What you need for the crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup cold shortening

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup ice cold water

To make the crust:

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening in small pieces by pulsing food processor until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour in ice cold water and pulse two or three more times until mixture begins to form a ball.

Divide dough in half (you can now refrigerate the dough for a few hours or overnight if you want to wait to make your pie).

One half of the dough recipe.

Otherwise, roll out dough on a floured counter into two 10 inch rounds- being careful not to overwork it.

For easy transfer, you can re-roll the crust back onto the rolling pin and place it on top of the pie plate.

Once pressed into the pie plate, be sure to prick the bottom of the crust with a fork giving it room to breathe.

One pie crust rolled out and pressed- not bad!!

FRENCH APPLE PIE

What you need for the pie filling:

1 homemade pie crust (recipe above), pricked with fork and topped with a little extra flour

8 cups granny smith apples (about 8 medium sized)

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

A dash of salt

1/2 tsp lemon juice

What you need for the pie topping:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup quick cooking oats

1/2 cup cold butter (cut into small pieces)

Action shot!♥

To make the pie filling:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400° F.

2. Peel and thinly slice apples. (You can soak apples in about 6 cups of water with about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to keep them from browning while you slice.)

3. In a large bowl mix sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Stir in sliced, drained apples. 

Our apple mixture!

4. Spoon mixture into your prepared pie pan.

Now, make your pie topping:

5. In a small bowl, mix flour, sugar, pecans and oats.

6. Use a pastry blender or fork to cut in butter until the mixture is crumbly.

Our crumb topping! Yum!

7. Spoon pie topping evenly over filled pie crust. Bake for 35-40 minutes in oven; cover with foil if you feel it is becoming too brown.

Mom with our pie before baking!

PUMPKIN PIE

What you need for the pie:

1 homemade pie crust (recipe above) pricked with a fork

1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin (about 2 cups)

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk  (we used Eagle brand)

2 large eggs 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

To make the pie:

1. Pre-heat oven to 425°F.

2. Prepare your other 9-inch pie plate with crust recipe from above; prick bottom of crust with a fork.

3. Whisk pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, spices and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Pour into crust.

Before baking! (mom cut off my head- thanks, mom!)

4. Bake for 15 minutes; then, reduce oven temperature to 350°F and bake for an additional 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of pie comes out clean. 

5. Cool and garnish as desired. Our original crumb topping recipe made a ton (I cut the recipe above down to a more appropriate amount for the apple pie) so we used the extra to top half of our pumpkin pie! I have to say- pumpkin pie is awesome with crumb topping!

Finished products!

ENJOY!

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