Tips For Easy Pie Making

Buy An Apple Peeler

For the last couple years I have been making apple pie by peeling my apples by hand. I have enjoyed the slow peeling process and romanticized it a little so it never felt like a chore but a treat. This week I decided splurge and buy a $20 apple peeler, slicer and corer. Oh my word I was done so fast I didn’t know what to do with myself!

If you want to save time and energy this holiday season, especially if you make everything from scratch for Thanksgiving and Christmas I highly recommend buying a peeler. Its well worth it. Here’s the one I ordered.

Apple Peeler Corer, Long lasting Chrome Cast Magnesium Alloy Apple Peeler Slicer Corer with Stainless Steel Blades and Powerful Suction Base for Apples and Potato(White)

Make Your Crust The Day Before

The day before I want to make my pies I also make the crust. The crust turn our flakier and tender if the sit in the refrigerator for a least an hour before baking. You want the butter to stay as cold as possible when making your crust and storing it in the refrigerator for a day or 2 before baking with it helps tremendously. You can keep your crust in the refrigerator for up to 10 days if needed or you can freeze for 6 months.

Cook Your Filling Ahead of Time

My trick for not burning my crust while getting perfectly soft apples with thick syrup filling every time is to cook my apple pie filling ahead of time. This allows my to take the pie out of the oven as soon as the crust is done without having to guess if my filling is done.

When you cook, make sure you cook to the exact texture you want your apples to be with your apple pie. The apples will not get softer when you bake it. Once cooked and cooled something happens to the apples and they don’t ‘cook’ any more after the first cook. So Don’t under cook your apples or they will be crunchy in your apple pie.

Ingredients for Apple Pie Filling

Apples

Granny Smith Apples are the favorite for apple pies. They are firm in texture and cook to a tender soft apple while still keeping its form. They are more sour than a Fuji or Gala apples which adds a extra layer of flavor to our sweet apple pie.

Sugar

This recipe calls for both brown sugar and white sugar. Sugar is our sweetener of choice but honey, maple syrup or Monk Fruit sweetener is also a great alternatives. If you use the honey or maple syrup just be sure to cook for a long time at a medium to low temperature when you cook your filling on the stove top. Honey and maple syrup burn easier. They also have more liquid in them than cane sugar so you also might want to add another tablespoon of flour or cornstarch.

Cinnamon, All-Spice, Nutmeg & Salt

Our spices include cinnamon, nutmeg, and all-spice. These spices add so much flavor and you can easily adjust the amounts and create a whole new flavor. If you favor one flavor over the other you can experiment by adding a extra 1/4 teaspoon to the spice you want to stand out. Reduce another spice you want to be more subtle then the others.

I also really like freshly ground nutmeg. This is optional but if you have never tried grating your own nutmeg from whole cloves you are missing out. I love the taste of nutmeg and fresh nutmeg does not disappoint.

Vanilla Powder/Extract

You can use vanilla powder or vanilla extract. The vanilla is optional but I like the subtle background flavor it gives to my apple pies.

Flour/Cornstarch

The flour or cornstarch is what thickens the syrup of our filling. The sugar also makes it syrupy but because there is so much juice from the apples the flour or cornstarch thickens it up perfectly.

You can use either flour or cornstarch. I typically use flour because its quick and usually our already but If I’m making a gluten free apple pie I use cornstarch. Some people think the flour gives it a funny taste so they prefer the cornstarch but I have found that with apple pie I never taste the flour taste that you get in other pies like Raspberry Pie.

Lemon Juice & Lemon Zest

The lemon flavor is not strong but adds a balances the sweet and tangy flavors with the granny smith apples and the sweet sugar along with the warm spices.

How To Make Apple Pie

Step 1: Make a Crust

Like I mentioned before, I always makes my crust the day or two before. You can make the crust the same day but be sure to let it refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

I personally really like the gingerbread pie crust recipe with the apple pie but a classic pie crust works great too. I also have a gluten free pie crust recipe.

Step 2: Peel Apples

Peel, core and slice about 5lbs or 8 large apples for your apple pie. Again, I highly recommend getting an apple peeler to save so much time!

Step 3: Mix Pie Filling Ingredients

In a large pot combine the apples, sugar, lemon juice and zest, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, all-spice, salt and vanilla powder all together.

Step 4: Cook Filling on Stove Top

Cook the filling in a large pot covered with a lid for 30-60 minutes. Cooking the apples before baking insures an even bake between the apples and the crust. Get perfectly soft apples with thick syrup filling every time is to cook my apple pie filling ahead of time. This allows my to take the pie out of the oven as soon as the crust is done without having to guess if my filling is done. Do Not Under Cook The Apples.

Step 5: Let the Apples Cool

Cool the apples completely before adding them to your pie crust. If you’ve read my 5 tips on a perfect crust you will understand why. The butter in the crust needs to stay cool until its in the oven. You don’t want it to melt until its time for it to create the flaky air bubbles in the crust. So do not put warm apple pie filling in the crust or you might melt the butter too soon and the butter will absorb the flour and you will get a dense crust.

I have often made the filling the day before and let it sit in the fridge overnight before baking on Thanksgiving day.

Step 6: Bake Pie

Now its time to bake your apple pie. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 325. We want the crust to get hot so that the butter can melt quickly and the steam can do its job in making a flaky crust, then we reduce the temperature so that we don’t burn the tops of the crust.

Step 7: Let Pie Cool and Enjoy

One the pie crust is completely cook your pie is done! Let cool on counter or refrigerator for at least 4 hours before cutting into. Enjoy with some ice cream, eggnog, whipped cream or caramel syrup!

Apple Pie Filling

Yield: 1, 9 inch pie

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Additional Time: 4 hours

Total Time: 5 hours 40 minutes

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Ingredients

• 5 lbs (8 Large) Granny Smith Apples
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup flour or cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon all-spice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions

1. Make pie crust dough (Gingerbread Crust, Classic Pie Crust) and refrigerate.
2. Peel, core and slice 8 large apples.
3. In a large pot mix together all filling ingredients, apples, lemon juice, lemon zest, brown sugar, white sugar, flour, salt, vanilla powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and all-spice.
4. On the stove, heat your apple filling mixture on medium high for about 40 minutes or until the apples are soft and syrup is thick.
5. Cool your filling down completely. I often will refrigerate it over night and assemble and bake the pie in the morning but 1 hour is typically enough time.
6. Assemble pie crust and pour the pie filling in. Add the top crust and bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees and 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Shop This Recipe

Apple Peeler Corer, Long lasting Chrome Cast Magnesium Alloy Apple Peeler Slicer Corer with Stainless Steel Blades and Powerful Suction Base for Apples and Potato(White)

Monk Fruit In The Raw Sweetener Baker’s Bag, 16 oz., Keto Certified Monk Fruit Sweetener, Zero Calories, Zero Net Carbs, Non-GMO Project Verified

The Spice Way Nutmeg Whole – (4 oz)

Cook’s, Pure Vanilla Powder, World’s Finest Gourmet Fresh Premium Vanilla, 4.5 oz

Antenda Adjustable Silicone Pie Crust Shields – Baking Protectors Cover Ring Fits 8-11.4 Inch Pies

The post Simple Classic Apple Pie Recipe appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Ingredients For Gingerbread Pie Crust

Flour

Use All-Purpose flour for this gingerbread pie crust recipe. I do not suggest using any whole wheat for this crust recipe. You could substitute with an All-Purpose, 1:1 ratio of gluten free flour or almond flour.

Cold Butter

Cold butter is extremely important. The colder the butter the better. I freeze my butter for pie crusts. Keeping the butter cold keeps the water that’s in the butter from absorbing into the flour too soon. We want the steam from the water in the butter to make lots of air pockets in order to create glorious flakes in our crust. If you let the butter get warm the flour will absorb the water and you will get a dense crust.

Blackstrap Molasses

Molasses creates the texture and classic flavor of gingerbread, along with the ginger of course.

There are a couple different types of molasses. Blackstrap molasses is very strong so we don’t need a lot of it. If you add to much your crust will become bitter. For light molasses or regular molasses you might want to add a little bit more then this recipe calls for. I only ever use blackstrap so I’m not sure how much more you would want but probably not to much more. If anyone tries regular molasses let me know in the comments how much you use and if it turned out.

Blackstrap molasses can be difficult to find in stores but you can buy it from Azure Standard or Amazon online.

To Read more about why I always cook with blackstrap molasses read “The Benefits of Blackstrap Molasses“

Cinnamon, All-Spice, Ginger and Salt

To make this crust really taste like gingerbread we can’t forget our spices! Cinnamon, All-Spice and Ginger are the classic gingerbread flavors. You could also add Nutmeg or substitute All-Spice with Cloves at a 2:1 Ratio (1/2 the amount of cloves).

Sugar

Because our molasses is a strong and can be a little bitter I add a little extra sugar compared to my perfect classic pie crust recipe. The we don’t want the crust to be too sweet but just sweet enough to complement out pie filling.

I use organic cane sugar from Azure Standard for just about everything and it works just as well as regular granulated sugar. You could also substitute for Monk Fruit Sweetener at a 1:1 ratio.

Apple Cider Vinegar

The acids in apple cider vinegar slow down the gluten production and keep the dough from becoming elastic like. If your dough is worked too much the gluten molecules will activate and your dough will become tough. Apple cider vinegar will slow this down to insure a tender, flaky pie crust. Don’t worry, your crust will not taste like vinegar. Remember to use COLD apple cider vinegar, if your liquid is cold your butter will also stay cold.

An Ice Cube (optional)

You can either place your ACV in the freezer for 20 minutes or so in order to get it cold or you can place an ice cube in it. I usually use an ice cube but its up to you. You will not be putting the ice cube in the dough. Its just to make your apple cider vinegar cold.

5 Tips You Don’t Want to Skip

(Especially number 4)

Tip # 1: Cold butter.

The colder the butter the better. I freeze my butter for pie crusts. Often I cut the butter in cubes and then freeze before adding to my flour. Keeping the butter cold keeps the water that’s in the butter from absorbing into the flour too soon. We want the steam from the water in the butter to make lots of air pockets in order to create glorious flakes in our crust. If you let the butter get warm the flour will absorb the water and you will get a dense crust

Tip # 2: Cold Apple Cider Vinegar

The acids in apple cider vinegar slow down the gluten production and keep the dough from becoming elastic like. If your dough is worked too much the gluten molecules will activate and your dough will become tough. Apple cider vinegar will slow this down to insure a tender, flaky pie crust. Don’t worry, your crust will not taste like vinegar. Remember to use COLD apple cider vinegar, if your liquid is cold your butter will also stay cold.

Tip # 3. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

By now I hope you realize we want things to stay cold. After you mix all the ingredients making your dough but before you roll it out make sure you refrigerate for at least one hour. This will help solidify the butter again after it is worked into the flour. Don’t let your dough sit on the counter for too long, always put it back in the refrigerator.  Once I’ve rolled out my pie crust and placed it in the pie pan I always put them back in the refrigerator until I’m ready to put the filling in. If the filling is in the crust and the oven is not preheated yet, I put it all back in the refrigerator. Keep it cold.

Tip # 4: Do Not Overwork.

I believe this is the number one reason people have tough, dense pie crusts. When you overwork your dough the butter melts and the gluten actives. So if you remember anything from this post, remember this. Do No Overwork The Dough! This often happens when we try to make the fancy, pretty crust we see on Pinterest. But don’t worry, you can still make the pretty crust, I have a tip for that as well.

Tip # 5. Freeze Your Decorative Pie Crust

When making a fun decorative top for your pie we often work it too much, melting the butter and activating the gluten molecules resulting in a tough, dense pie crust. Follow these steps. Mix your dough according to the recipe, refrigerate the dough for 1 hour, roll out the dough on wax or parchment paper for easy transporting. Freeze for 10 minutes. Cut out your pretty shapes and place them back in the freezer till you are ready to assemble them on your pie.

If you have scraps from the cut outs that you want to use place them in the freezer as well for 10 minutes before working them again. Don’t combined them into a ball to roll out again but instead try to layer them on top of each other then roll out. Again, don’t overwork. The shapes you make with the scraps wont turn out as well as the first set. They have been worked more, so that is just how it is.

How To Make Gingerbread Pie Crust

Step One: Freeze or Refrigerate Ingredients.

First combine the apple cider and the ice cube in a small bowl. You want to use cold ingredients to make your pie crust. If you don’t have an ice cube you can simply place the bowl in the freezer for a few minutes till it is cold.

Step Two: Combine Dry Ingredients

Add flour, sugar, cinnamon, all-spice, ginger and salt to your food processor. Pulse to mix together.

Step Three: Add Cold Butter

Cut your cold or frozen butter in cubes and add to food processor. It can be hard to cut frozen butter so sometimes I cut the butter then place in the freezer for 10-20 minutes before adding to the flour mixture. I want the butter to be as cold as possible before this step because this is when it is most worked. Pulse a few time until it it starts to combine with the flour mixture.

Step 4: Add Molasses and ACV

Add molasses and the apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon at a time while continuing pulsing
the food processor till you dough starts to look like little beads. Don’t overwork.

Step Five: Refrigerate Dough

Place the crumbly dough on floured surface and bring together into a disc. Again, don’t overwork. do not knead the dough. Just simply combine together and form into a disc.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap or a zip-lock bag and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour. I have also used a Pyrex glass container to store my dough but the zip-lock bag is my favorite to use. I often make my dough the day before I plan on making my pies. You can leave your dough in the refrigerator for up to a week and it will stay good. You can also place it in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Step Six: Make A Pie!

Unlike a classic pie crust we are not going to roll out the dough all the way. The molasses makes the dough a little sticky and easily fall apart when lifted up. So, roll the dough out. If the dough seems to be tear then go ahead and mold it up onto the sides with your hands. Try not to overwork.

Follow your pie filling recipe for baking instructions.

Side Story: So my daughter got upset when playing outside with her big brother and immediately, without any prompting, as shes is still crying, started helping me finish making my pumpkin pie. She was soon happy again. This just goes to show baking truly does make everything better!

Gingerbread Pie Crust

Yield: 2 Pie Crust

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Additional Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

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Ingredients

• 2 Cups Flour
• 4 Tablespoons Sugar
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Cup Butter
• 2 Tablespoons Blackstrap Molasses
• 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/2 Teaspoon Ginger
• 1/2 Teaspoon All-Spice
• 2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 Ice Cube (optional)

Instructions

1. Combine apple cider vinegar and ice cube in a small bowl to get cold.
2. Add flour, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, all-spice and salt to your food processor. Pulse to mix together.
3. Cut you cold or frozen butter in cubes and add to food processor. Pulse a
   few time till it it starts to combine with the flour mixture.
4. Add apple cider vinegar and molasses mixture 1 tablespoon at a time while continuing pulsing the food processor till you dough starts to look like little beads.
5. Place dough on floured surface and bring together and divide into two discs.
6. Wrap discs in plastic wrap or a zip-lock bag and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
7. Unlike Classic Pie Crust you will roll out dough just a little then use your hands to mold into pie pan. Follow your pie recipes for baking instructions

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Golden Barrel Unsulfured Black Strap molasses, 32 oz

Monk Fruit In The Raw Sweetener Baker’s Bag, 16 oz., Keto Certified Monk Fruit Sweetener, Zero Calories, Zero Net Carbs, Non-GMO Project Verified

Hamilton Beach Food Processor & Vegetable Chopper for Slicing, Shredding, Mincing, and Puree, 8 Cup, Black

The post How to Make Gingerbread Pie Crust appeared first on Embracing The Home.