05 April 2011

big yummy check mark: a pie from scratch!

"If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe." - Carl Sagan

Okay okay, so I'm definitely not God, but I did make this apple pie with everything I already had except the apples!  Of course it was on my 101 list, so I had to do it.

15. Bake a pie (including the crust) from scratch

I used my Betty Crocker book to guide me through.  I used her recipe for a buttermilk crust because she said it was easier to handle (sorry, I couldn't find that recipe on her site, but it's in the book).  Well, I've learned now that crusts are easy to make--especially now that I own a pastry blender--but the hardest part is moving the crust from the counter to the pie dish.  So frustrating!  I had to do it a few times for each crust.

The top crust looked awful before it was actually baked.
The apple prep was so easy.  All I really had to do was peel some apples and then throw some cinnamon and nutmeg in them.  It came out sooooo good!  Here's the recipe I used, except mine only called for 6 cups of apples, not 8.  I also brushed the top crust with water and sprinkled sugar on top (hey, Betty told me to!).

Wish I'd made more!
I'll definitely be making more pies from now on!

8 comments:

  1. Looks yummy! DH is the pie baker in our house...he makes apple pie often and pumpkin for Thanksgiving and Christmas:)

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  2. I do whatever Betty tells me to do. And Martha. They're the reason why we don't exist on boxed mac & cheese. :)

    Looks soooo yummy! Pie crusts are always wicked annoying to work with, especially trying to put them neatly into a plate. Lately, I've been making apple pie turnovers- the same recipe, just cutting out circles of crust, piling some filling on one side, folding over to close (so they look like half-moons), then baking.

    You've inspired me to make a blueberry-peach pie for my brother & sister's visit next week! :)

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  3. Yay for crossing something off your list, the pie looks great! As far as moving the crust, after I roll it into a circle I put flour over the top, take the rolling pin (add flour to that as well), and roll the dough around the rolling pin, then simply unroll it into the pie dish. I don't know how much sense that makes written, but that is what I do! Haha

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  4. Another way to move the crust if you're afraid of it sticking to the rolling pin (it doesn't matter how much flour I use it always does for me) is to fold it gently into fourths and then carry it over and place the corner in the center and carefully unfold. Congrats on a great looking pie! Wish I'd been there to try it!

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  5. The "fold-into-fourths" method is the one I used (after also trying the rolling pin method), but I guess I should've made it clear that getting the dough up off the surface of where I rolled it was the issue, notsomuch the actual transfer method. Whenever I tried to lift the dough, it just fell apart and I had to re-roll. I guess my "lightly floured surface" was a bit too light? Maybe next time I'll just make a crumb top instead.

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  6. That looks delicious! congrats on your first pie!

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  7. The crumb topping tastes better anyway. *wink wink*

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  8. It looks awesome - yum! Good work!

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