How to Make the Perfect Pie

Advertisements
Advertisements
FacebookTwitterLinkedInPrintFriendlyShare

My favorite, easy-to-make pies.

Pies come in all shapes and sizes – with all types of crusts and all types of fillings. And I pretty much like them all too. Here are just a few of my favorites but we could probably talk pies (or eat pies) pretty much all day! Let’s start with the easy ones.

Pastry for a Two-Crust Pie

  • 2 cups flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup margarine
  • ¼ cup shortening
  • 5 tablespoons cold water
  1. Stir together flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor.
  2. Pulse in margarine and shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
  3. Add cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time until pastry holds together.
  4. Shape into two balls and flatten.
  5. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least ½ hour.

Basic Apple Pie

  • 1 cup sugar 
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg
  • 4 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced thinly
  • 2 tablespoons margarine, cut into small pieces
  • 1 tablespoons nondairy creamer
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  1. Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and apples in a bowl.
  2. Roll out half the pastry into an 11-inch round and fit into the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate.
  3. Pour apple filling into pastry.
  4. Dot with margarine.
  5. Roll out top layer and fit over filling.
  6. Pinch edges together and flute if desired.
  7. Brush top of piece with nondairy creamer and sprinkle with sugar.
  8. Make small slashes in the top of the pie (about 5) and bake for about 45 minutes.
  9. Cool on a wire rack.

Best served warm with vanilla ice cream, pareve or dairy.

Basic Pecan Pie

This classic recipe remains the best.

For crust, either use half the above recipe or to make it really easy, use a defrosted store-bought one.

  • 1 cup corn syrup 
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons margarine, melted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1-3/4 cup pecans
  • 1 9-inch pie crust
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Beat together corn syrup, eggs, sugar, margarine and vanilla.
  3. Stir in pecans.
  4. Pour into prepared crust and bake for 60 to 70 minutes.
  5. Cool on wire rack.

Rich Pumpkin Pie

  • 1 unbaked 9-inch piecrust, homemade or store-bought
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 cups canned pumpkin
  • 1 cup soy milk or nondairy creamer
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • ½ cup molasses
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon ginger
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Beat together all filling ingredients and pour into crust.
  3. If you have any leftover crust dough (if you made the two-crust recipe), it’s nice to roll out the dough and cut some shapes out of it (I have nice leaf cookie cutters).
  4. Gently place the shaped pieces on top of the filling. Bake for about 50 minutes, until center is firm.
  5. Cool on a wire rack.

Serve with whipped cream, pareve or dairy.

 

For more great kosher recipes go to: www.gourmetkoshercooking.com

Click here to comment on this article
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
EXPLORE
LEARN
MORE
Explore
Learn
Resources
Next Steps
About
Donate
Menu
Languages
Menu
Social
.