Category: Pies + Tarts

Kentucky Derby Pie

derbypieThe Kentucky Derby is in May…so why I did bake a derby pie in November? Well, Mike made shrimp and grits on Friday, and I wanted a dessert to complement it. But the recipe I tried failed, and once I fail at a recipe I must try again. I’ve spent literal years perfecting honey cake and buttercream, my friends. I could not let something that sounded as delicious as derby pie – essentially a pecan pie with chocolate and bourbon – go unperfected.

And so I took to the internet, searching for a recipe that seemed more feasible than the one I’d tried to make. I found this recipe at The Happier Homemaker, and it turned out great. I think I overbaked mine a bit, so next time I’ll pull it a few minutes earlier. And while I should probably call this Migraine Pie – because as it contains both chocolate and alcohol, I’m putting myself at migraine risk by eating it – it is absolutely delicious, almost like a chocolate chip blondie in pie crust, but not exactly. You’ll just have to make it and see what I mean.

Ingredients

For the pie crust

  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • Dash of salt
  • 1/3 cup shortening
  • 4-5 tablespoons ice water

For the filling

  • 1 stick butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons Kentucky bourbon
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup pecan halves
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a pie dish on a baking sheet to catch any drips if your filling bubbles over the edges.

Make the crust: in a large bowl, combine flour, salt, and shortening. Cut the shortening in with a pastry cutter until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Drizzle two tablespoons water over the mixture and toss with a fork to combine; add enough water to bring your dough together, but be careful not to make the dough too wet. Gather dough into a ball and roll out to about a 12-inch circle; carefully lift into your pie pan, and trim and crimp the edges.

Make the filling: In a large bowl, combine melted butter and sugars, whisking to combine. Whisk in eggs, vanilla, and bourbon, then fold in flour and salt. Stir in pecans and chocolate chips.

Pour filling into the pie shell and bake for about 55-60 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool just slightly before serving, or chill and serve cold. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days; makes about 8 servings, depending on how generously you slice it. 

 

 

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Rustic Apple Tart

rusticappletartMy mom Genny, an occasional subject on this blog, is coming from dinner this evening. She requested something simple – “just hamburgers, or whatever” – and instructed me not to go to any trouble. Well, I can’t have my mom over for Mother’s Day dinner without preparing some kind of dessert.

This rustic apple tart, originally found in my Better Homes & Gardens Baking book as a peach tart, was my first foray into free-form pastry baking and I think it turned out fairly well. The apples in the center look a bit dry to me, so I’m stocked with vanilla ice cream (both of the dairy and non-dairy variety, as Genny lives a low-dairy life) just in case. I actually suspect that I should have glazed the apples with apple or apricot jam after the tart baked to make them shiny. Eh, maybe next time.

Ingredients

For the crust

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
  • About 5 tablespoons cold water
  • Milk, for glazing
  • Sugar, for sprinkling

For the filling

  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 4 teaspoons flour
  • 1 teaspoon apple pie spice
  • 3 cups peeled, sliced apples (I used Granny Smith and McIntosh)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. To make the crust, in a medium bowl, stir together flour and salt. Cut in shortening using a pastry blender or fork, then sprinkle in 1 tablespoon cold water at a time, tossing it in the dough to combine so it sticks together. You’ll still have some dry bits of flour in the bowl – that’s okay.

Place a large sheet of parchment on your countertop and pour the crust mixture onto it. Use the parchment to bring the dough together, pressing it into a rough rectangle. For an amazing look at how to do this, check out this video from King Arthur Baking. Set the dough aside in the fridge while you make your filling.

To make the filling, stir together sugar, flour, and apple pie spice. Add apples and toss to coat.

Remove crust from the fridge; place a second sheet of parchment on top of it and roll it out to about a 13-inch circle. I flipped my crust over at this point so my original piece of parchment could get discarded.

Place the crust on a rimmed baking sheet and add apples into the center, leaving about a 2-inch border around the sides. Fold the sides in to create the pleating; brush crust with milk and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 50-55 minutes, until crust is golden brown. Around 30 minutes, cover the exposed filling with a circle of foil to prevent burning.

Cool on a wire rack; store in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 day or in the fridge for 2 days. Makes 8 servings.

Apple Hand Pies

Mike requested apple hand pies for this weekend’s treat. I need to continue developing my pastry skills, and this was excellent practice. Because I chose to focus on the pastry, I decided to use canned apple pie filling, but you could absolutely use fresh apple filling if you prefer. Next time, I probably will.

The crust recipe comes from Live Well Bake Often, and it’s probably my favorite I’ve come across so far. I also used some crust-making techniques I learned from this incredibly comprehensive video from King Arthur Flour, and feel like this pastry-making experience was the easiest that I’ve ever had. While the pies look like tiny flying saucers, Mike says they’re absolutely delicious.

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups (315 grams) flour – use the spoon and level method if you’re measuring by volume
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
  • 8 tablespoons vegetable shortening, cold, cut into cubes
  • 1/2 cup ice water
  • 1/2 of a 21-ounce can apple pie filling
  • Nutmeg
  • Cinnamon
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • Sanding sugar

Preparation 

In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, and salt. Add butter and shortening, tossing with a fork to coat. Use a pastry blender to combine the butter and shortening into the flour mix until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Drizzle in water1 tablespoon at a time and mix with a fork until the dough begins to combine; you may not need the full half-cup, but I did.

Turn the dough out onto a sheet of parchment paper and use the paper to gather the dough into a rough rectangle shape; fold the dough over on itself a few times to fully incorporate the wet and dry ingredients. The technique in the video around 7:03 is really helpful here. Shape the dough into a rectangle and chill for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Scoop out half the can of pie filling into a medium bowl and chop up the apples into chunks. Add nutmeg and cinnamon to taste; set filling aside while you roll and shape your crust. Reserve the remaining filling for another use; you can heat it up and serve it over ice cream, or just warm it and eat it by itself as a side dish.

Remove crust from fridge and place on a lightly floured surface, rolling into a rectangle about 1/8 inch thickness. Using a 3 1/2 inch cookie cutter, cut out circles of crust; re-roll scraps and repeat. Place half of the circles on the baking sheet and top with about a tablespoon of filling. Punch a steam hole in the remaining circles using a small cutter (I used a frosting piping tip) or knife and place the top crusts over the filling, pinching the edges to join the bottom and top crusts. Gently press the edges with a fork to seal.

In a small bowl, beat together the egg and milk to make an egg wash and brush over the pies, then sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake for 20-22 minutes, until the pies are golden brown. Remove from oven and cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. Makes 10 pies (my recipe made nine round pies, plus one larger half-circle shaped pie that I made from the last of the scraps).

Blood Orange Tart

Last week I came home from the grocery store and announced to Mike, with great joy, that it is blood orange season. I even did a little “it’s blood orange season” dance in our kitchen. Few citrus fruits are as beautiful to me as the blood orange, and I absolutely love to bake with them. 

This year’s Christmas dessert was a blood orange tart, a wonderful concoction of shortbread crust and blood orange filling. I’m not sure why they have a sort of top crust on top of them, but I suspect it has something to do with the sugars in the filling mixture rising to the top during baking. Regardless, they are absolutely delicious. 

Ingredients

For the crust

  • 12 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Dash salt
  • 1 3/4 cups flour

For the filling

  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup freshly squeezed blood orange juice (about 3 blood oranges)
  • Zest of 1 1/2 blood oranges
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Preparation

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Add flour and mix to combine completely, then press crust into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan. Allow the crust to rise slightly above the edge of the pan because it will shrink slightly during baking. Chill for 30-45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the crust with foil or parchment and fill with dried beans or pie weights; bake for 20-25 minutes, until crust is light golden brown at the edges. Remove the weights and allow to bake for another 2-3 minutes to slightly brown the inside crust. Remove from oven and trim the crust edges to neaten the tart’s appearance. 

While crust is baking, make filling; whisk sugar, blood orange juice, blood orange zest, eggs, flour, and powdered sugar together until smooth. Pour filling into a large glass measuring cup; keep cool while crust finishes baking.

Once you’ve trimmed your crust edges, place the tart pan on a baking sheet and place it back into the oven, then slowly pour the filling into the crust. Carefully place a crust guard around the edge to prevent over-browning. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until center is set; my center was set at about 25 minutes.

Remove tart from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack to room temperature; remove edge from tart pan and store tart, covered, in the refrigerator. Makes about 12 servings. 

Lime Tart

Mike loves Key lime pie, but Key limes – smaller and more tart than Persian limes – are hard to come by in Pittsburgh. A few months back, I perused some recipes online, hoping to find that you can easily substitute Persian for Key limes in pies. You can, of course. But there are a host of people on the internet who are here to tell you with near fanatical devotion that it simply won’t be the same.

Maybe they’re proud Floridians, I don’t know. But nearly every lime pie post I read had an incredibly enthusiastic Key lime loyalist assuring readers that Key limes are more tart! Key limes are so much better! And don’t think of using bottled Key lime juice because it’s absolutely not the same! I was surprised to find this level of devotion to a citrus fruit…and that’s saying a lot given my undying love of lemons. In any case, my Persian limes worked very well in this tart, which Mike proclaimed as delicious. Next time, I’ll pre-bake the tart shell for longer to put more color on the pastry and ensure it’s done on the bottom.

Ingredients

For the pastry

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
  • 1/4 cup shortening
  • About 3-4 tablespoons ice water

For the filling

  • 4 egg yolks
  • 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
  • zest from 1/2 lime
  • 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (from about 4 Persian limes)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt, then add butter and shortening. Cut butter and shortening into the flour until the mixture looks like coarse, pea-sized crumbs. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of water over mixture and toss with a fork; repeat with remaining water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture comes together; you don’t want to use more than 1/4 to 1/3 cup of water total or your mixture will be too soggy. Gather dough into a ball and knead it gently to bring it together.

Roll pastry out between two pieces of parchment paper, then peel off the top sheet. Carefully flip the dough over into a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and position the pastry into the tart pan, then peel off the parchment. Gently press the pastry into the sides; I use a small bit of extra pastry for this to prevent it from tearing as it’s pressed into the fluted nooks.

At this point, you can trim the excess pastry if you like, but I chose to let my shell bake with the excess pastry hanging over the sides and trim it after it had baked to prevent shrinkage like they do on the Great British Baking Show. Prick the bottom of the shell with a fork. Line the shell with a double thickness of aluminum foil and bake for 8 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for another 8 minutes, until golden (mine was a bit pale, so next time I’ll bake it for another 10 minutes or so to start with). Remove from an oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely; if you’ve left your excess pastry on, you can trim it as soon as you take it out of the oven.

Lower your oven temperature to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, lime zest, and lime juice. Pour into cooled shell and bake for 15-20 minutes, until set. Cool at room temperature for 1 hour, then cover and chill for 2-3 hours before serving.

Makes 8 servings.

Pear and Frangipane Tart

Still drawing on my inspiration from the Great British Baking Show, I made this pear and frangipane tart for Christmas. Frangipane (say it with me: fran-gee-pan) is a fancy-sounding word for a delicious mixture of ground almonds, butter, eggs, sugar, and almond extract, which gets combined with any number of jams or fruits in various tarts.

I found this recipe at Williams Sonoma and adjusted it slightly to be alcohol-free; there was a bit of rum in their frangipane, but mine just uses water. I also kept my pears in halves, rather than quarters, to give the option of frangipane-only slices for those of us who don’t tend to like cooked fruit and skipped the part where you brush the baked tart with melted apricot jam to give it some shine. The next time I make this, I’ll chill my tart dough a bit longer; it turned out very well, but started to tear a bit as I worked with it and could have likely used another 30 minutes or so in the fridge.

Ingredients

For the tart shell

  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 tablespoons very cold water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch cubes

For the filling

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 1/2 cups raw unblanched whole almonds, finely ground*
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
  • 2 Anjou pears, peeled, cored, and cut in half

*You’re making almond flour here and can grind the nuts in a food processor until they’re very fine and powdery. You can use store-bought almond flour if you like, but as it’s made with blanched almonds, you’ll have a slightly different color and maybe a bit of a different flavor than if you make your own from whole, unblanched almonds. 

Preparation

Prepare the tart shell: in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, stir together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter and beat on medium-low speed until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with butter pieces no larger than small peas. Add the egg mixture and beat just until the dough pulls together.

Turn dough onto a very lightly floured work surface and pat into a ball, then flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for about 30-60 minutes.

On a very lightly floured work surface, roll your dough to about 1/8 inch thickness; you’ll want to flatten the dough slightly before you start rolling and turn it every few rolls to keep it from sticking.

Fold the dough round in half and carefully transfer to a 9 1/2-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Unfold and ease the round into the pan, without stretching it, and pat it firmly into the bottom and up the sides of the pan; I use a small ball of excess dough to press it into the crevices in the sides so the dough doesn’t tear. Trim off any excess dough by gently running a rolling pin across the top of the pan. Press the dough into the sides to extend it slightly above the rim to offset any shrinkage during baking.

Refrigerate or freeze the tart shell until firm, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 375°F.

Line the pastry shell with aluminum foil and fill with weights; I use dried beans. Bake for 20 minutes, then lift an edge of the foil. If the dough looks wet, continue to bake, checking every 5 minutes, until the dough is pale gold, for a total baking time of 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack. Leave the oven temperature at 375°F and position a rack in the middle of the oven.

While the shell bakes, make the frangipane: melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to the touch.

In a medium bowl, stir together ground almonds, sugar, eggs, almond extract, vanilla extract, water, lemon zest, and melted butter. Spread evenly in the shell.

Slice pear halves crosswise into slices about 1/8 inch thick, keeping them together. Arrange core-side down with the stem end pointing toward the middle of the pan.

Bake until filling is firm to the touch and golden, about 40-45 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Lemon Tart

Some of the best treats are the simplest treats. This lemon tart, with a shortbread-like crust and tangy filling, is a simple but elegant dessert far easier to make than you might imagine. Dust it with powdered sugar, add a few berries and some whipped cream, or just eat it plain – I promise, you won’t be disappointed. I have big plans for a raspberry or strawberry sauce to accompany this tart the next time I make it.

Adapted from The Best Lemon Tart Ever on Allrecipes, this tart remind me of a hybrid between lemon meringue pie and lemon bars. My version is very tangy, so you’ll want to serve it in small slices. I added more lemon zest than the original recipe called for, and also highly recommend blind baking your crust – I realized about halfway through baking that the crust had puffed up so much it really needed some weight to keep it from just ending up as a tart-shaped cookie, so I blind baked for the last 15 minutes or so of the total time.

Ingredients

For the crust

  • 12 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Dash salt
  • 1 3/4 cups flour

For the filling

  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 4 medium lemons)
  • Zest of 2 lemons
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Preparation

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Add flour and mix to combine completely, then press crust into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan. Allow the crust to rise slightly above the edge of the pan because it will shrink slightly during baking. Chill for 30-45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the crust with foil or parchment and fill with dried beans or pie weights; bake for 20-25 minutes, until crust is light golden brown at the edges.

While crust is baking, make filling; whisk sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, eggs, flour, and powdered sugar together until smooth. Pour filling into a large glass measuring cup; keep cool while crust finishes baking.

When crust is ready, remove it from the oven and remove foil/parchment and pie weights. Place a sheet of parchment paper on your oven rack (or on the rack below) and return the crust to the oven, then slowly pour the filling into the crust. Carefully place a crust guard around the edge to prevent over-browning. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until center is set; my center was set at about 25 minutes.

Remove tart from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack to room temperature; remove edge from tart pan and store tart, covered, in the refrigerator. Dust with powdered sugar or serve with whipped cream and berries if you like.

Almond Tart

A few weeks ago I the flu and spent two days lying on my sofa drinking tea and watching The Great British Baking Show. While I know I can bake, I can’t bake like those contestants…yet.

Once I was able to go out in public without feeling like Typhoid Mary, I ventured to Williams Sonoma for a tart pan. I’m obsessed with tarts now and really wanted to make one for our Easter dessert, so I scoured the web for good ideas. This almond tart is actually a hybrid from Better Homes & Gardens and Williams Sonoma, and it is delicious. While I doubt it would help me win Star Baker, I enjoyed making it very much. Many more tarts to come!

Ingredients

For the pastry

  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 8 tablespoons cold butter
  • 1 egg yolk, beaten
  • 2-3 tablespoons ice water

For the filling

  • 8 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 8 ounces almond paste, cut into slices
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 1/3 cup raspberry jam
  • 1/3 cup sliced almonds

Preparation

To make the pastry, place flour in a large mixing bowl and cut in butter until the crumbs are pea-sized. Mix egg yolk and 1 tablespoon ice water and drizzle over flour mixture, stirring with a fork to moisten. Add additional tablespoons of water, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring to moisten. Gently knead the dough until a ball forms; flatten into a disc and wrap in plastic, then chill for 1 hour.

Position a rack in the lower third of your oven and preheat to 375 degrees. Roll out pastry to about a 12-inch diameter, then carefully transfer to a 9 1/2 inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Carefully press pastry up the sides of the pan, extending dough over the edges. Gently run your rolling pin over the edges of the pan to remove excess dough; reserve your excess dough for another use.

Line tart shell with foil and fill with pie weights – I use dry beans. Bake for 20 minutes, then lift the foil; if the crust is a pale golden color all over, it’s ready. If not, continue baking for a few more minutes at a time, checking often, until crust is pale golden all over.

Remove crust from oven and place on a wire rack while you prepare the filling; lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees and place the rack in the center.

In a mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until completely smooth. Add almond paste one slice at a time, mixing very well between each addition until the filling becomes completely smooth. Note: I flattened out my slices of almond paste so they’d blend into the butter easier. With the mixer running on low, slowly add the sugar, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Stir in flour.

Spread raspberry jam over the bottom of the crust, then carefully top with dollops of almond filling and spread filling to form an even layer; the jam may travel up the sides of the crust a bit, and that’s okay. Top with sliced almonds in an even layer.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the center is completely set. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool; I used an inverted 6-inch cake pan on my cooling rack and remove the side of the tart pan. Cool completely; serve at room temperature and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Makes 8 servings.

Butterscotch Pie II

Some time ago, I made butterscotch pie, and my filling didn’t set well. I suspect that I didn’t cook it long enough, but then again, I was pretty much a pie-baking amateur at the time. I’m pleased to report that this recipe from Trisha Yearwood at Food Network delivered a wonderful, fully set filling.

While Trisha’s recipe calls for a meringue, I decided to leave the meringue out; you can use your three leftover egg whites to make meringue cookies or almond clouds (adapting the recipe to account for the extra whites in each of those recipes), or make a meringue for your pie if you like. Personally, I’m more of a whipped cream/whipped topping-on-pie kind of gal, but whatever floats your boat. I also have to admit that I used a store-bought pie crust for this, but as I’ve mentioned in previous pie posts, sometimes you just want to focus on your filling, and such was the case with this pie.

Ingredients

  • 1 9-inch pie crust, store-bought or homemade
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 4 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 cups milk
  • 3 tablespoons corn starch
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

Pre-bake pie crust and allow to cool completely before filling.

In a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, heavy cream, and butter. Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture boils; continue to boil for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens and turns darker in color. Remove from heat; reserve 1 tablespoon milk and slowly pour remaining milk into the sugar mixture.

In a small bowl, combine the reserved 1 tablespoon milk, cornstarch, egg yolks, and vanilla extract; whisk together until smooth. Return the sugar/milk mixture to medium heat and add the cornstarch mixture, stirring well to combine. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens; Trisha’s recipe says this takes 3 minutes, but my filling took at least 10 minutes to get thick. Large bubbles will appear in the pan when your filling is ready.

Pour filling into baked pie shell and immediately place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the top of the filling. Refrigerate until the filling is set, about 4 hours or overnight.

Remove plastic wrap and top with whipped cream or whipped topping before serving.

Store in the refrigerator.

 

Apple Pie with Plaid Lattice Leaf Crust

apple-pie-with-lattice-leaf-crustSometimes, I use canned pie filling. Yes! You’re shocked, I know…unless you’ve already read my posts on cherry pie and peach pie, of course.

Here’s the thing: fully scratch-made pies are awesome, but I’ve already made apple pie from scratch. And today, on Thanksgiving Eve, I wanted to spend time focusing on my crust, creating a beautiful, fancy lattice and interesting edge.

Behold, fancy lattice and interesting edge! I’m not the best crust designer, so each time I make pies now, I practice a new design. This time, I chose a thin plaid lattice of one-half and one-inch strips, then added a leaf border around the edge. I’m very pleased with the end result.

Ingredients

  • 2 pie crusts*
  • 1 20-ounce can apple pie filling
  • Dash of cinnamon
  • Dash of nutmeg

*My pie crust recipe, which I learned from my mom, yields 3 crusts. If you’re not sure what to do with the extra crust, consider apple crumb pie, chocolate pie, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, or pie crust rolls. 

Preparation

Mix cinnamon, nutmeg, and pie filling; set aside.

Prepare crusts; line an 8-inch pie dish with one and reserve the second for the lattice leaf top.

Roll your second crust into a rectangle at least 9 inches tall. Cut one-half and one-inch strips; you’ll need 5 one-half inch and 7 one-inch strips for this design, plus more for the leaves, and you should have plenty. I had a bit of dough left over that I’m going to turn into pie crust rolls later.

Pour filling into pie dish, then top with 7 strips of crust; start from the outside edge and alternate the one-inch strips with the one-half-inch strips.

Fold back every other strip halfway; place a one-inch strip, then a one-half-inch strip, in the opposite direction and fold the other strips back so they cover the new ones. Repeat as necessary; if you need video help for latticework, check out this video from Southern Living. Once your lattice is complete, trim your edges and fold them over to secure them.

Using a small leaf cookie cutter (I chose a teardrop-shaped leaf), cut leaves for your edge; re-roll your scraps if necessary. My edge used 24 leaves.

Gently press the leaves onto the edge of your crust, making sure they stick to the crust below.

Place a pie guard or foil around the edge of the crust; bake for 25 minutes, then remove the guard and bake another 25 minutes.

Cool pie completely, or serve warm.