This weekend I was visiting Kristin and she mentioned to me her recent successes with pie making. Being extremely susceptible to the power of suggestion (and pie), I decided to try my wits about it. Kristin was kind enough to lend me her recipe for crust, and suggest some simple pie approaches on allrecipes.com. I opted for the Fresh Pear Pie, as it was rather simple and I only needed to buy two ingredients. After a quick trip to the market I was off messing up my kitchen that Sean and I spent so much time cleaning this weekend. I'm not sure how it tastes yet, as I am waiting for some friends to come over and try it, but here is the recipe! I didn't change anything as I figured my first pie shouldn't be experimental. In addition, I forgot the butter in the pie, hope it turns out okay. I had a terrible time rolling out the dough, but figure its a practice thing! I'll change the picture if I ever get a digital camera.
Crust Recipe
2 c. Flour
2/3 c. Shortening
6-7 Tbsp Water
Work the shortening into the flour with a fork until its really crumbly. I added a few tbsps of water at a time and worked each one in until it forms a solid dough, but I've heard going all for one can make a flakier crust. Spread flour onto your surface and roll half the dough out. Be sure to flip occasionally! The other half you can roll out for the top half of the pie.
(This is for a double pie, one for top and one for bottom, for single, use 1 1/4 cup flour, 1/3 cup shortening and 6-7 tbsp water. Thanks again Kristin !)
Pie Recipe
This is directly from allrecipes.com.
1/2 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon lemon zest
5 cups peeled and sliced pears
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Combine sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and lemon rind in mixing bowl. Arrange pears in layers in a 9 inch pastry lined pan, sprinkling sugar mixture over each layer. Dot with butter. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Roll out remaining dough; cut slits for escape of steam. Moisten rim of bottom crust. Place top crust over filling. Fold edge under bottom crust, pressing to seal. Flute edge. Bake at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and bake for an additional 35 to 40 minutes.
Anywho, after cooking I think the crust doesn't look as flakey as I would like. Perhaps I kneeded the dough too much. Also, I think brushing it with a simple syrup or honey may bring out a nice shine and add some sweetness. Clearly I have some nice places to play around with this. With Sean's large spice collection, I imagine I'll be making more pies since all I really need to pick up is the fruit. Maybe strawberry next... mmmm...
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