Easy as Pie?

The saying is old, but is it true? It seems that today making a pie can be quite an accomplishment – especially if you’re doing the crust from start (not from the refrigerated section of the grocery store). And getting the crust, filling, and meringue, if called for, just right may take more-than-a-moderate amount of skill and practice. So, this fall’s goal has been to make this dessert “as easy as pie”.

The first endeavor was for the church’s Fall Festival. The chairperson called for 70 pies! Surely I could contribute a couple? I was up to it! Actually I was rather proud of my efforts after an afternoon of cutting those collected pies. What an array of crusts, fillings, and pans! Getting a close look at many other pie-bakers’ efforts made me feel pretty good about mine – I even sneaked a bite from a crumble that fell off in cutting.

Here’s the recipe, one I’ll make again. In fact, after a friend gave me a bag of home tree pears, I’ve put 2 baggies of this filling in the freezer for future pies.

Crust:

1 ¼ cup flour (all-purpose King Arthur worked well)

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. sugar

½ cup butter (not margarine)

¼ cup iced water

Sift flour, sugar, and salt together. Cut in butter until dough is crumbly (here I used the food processor – quick and did a good job). Add enough iced water to the crumbs so that they hold together (again, in the food processor – a tablespoon at a time and pulsing the processor. It only took about 3 tablespoons). Mold dough into a circle about 1-inch thick, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour. Roll out with rolling pin to desired size.

I have a new plastic mat for dough that works great! It requires only a little flour to keep the dough from sticking and has circles to measure the size you’re rolling. It allowed me to roll out dough easily and lift it up over the rolling pin to transfer to the pie pan without the dough tearing.

Pear-Cranberry Lattice Pie

Pastry for double-crust pie (9-inches)

¾ cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

5 cups sliced peeled fresh pears

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, thawed

2 tablespoons butter

1 egg

1 tablespoon milk

additional sugar

Line a 9-inch pie plate with bottom pastry; set aside. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and allspice. Add pecans and cranberries; toss to coat. Spoon into crust; dot with butter.

With a fluted pastry wheel, pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut remaining pastry into eight 1-inch strips. Twist strips; position parallel to each other and about ½ inch to ¾ inch apart over filling. Trim strips evenly with pastry edge. Seal and flute edges.

In a small bowl, whisk egg and milk; brush over pastry. Sprinkle with additional sugar. Cover pie loosely with foil to prevent overbrowning.

Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and remove foil; bake for 40-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack.