Neat Pie Site

Today I was surfing the web and I found a site that had a lot of varied pie making tips and tricks. A very fun read for someone just learning to make pie!

http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf/Food_and_Recipes/Recipes/Baking/Pies/index.html

Dark Chocolate, Caramel & Walnut Pie

Today I made a Dark Chocolate, Caramel and Walnut Pie. This recipe used semisweet chocolate chips. So next time I make this I'm going to use milk chocolate chips, because I like those better. My grandmas pie crust recipe is still working very well. The crust recipe uses butter flavored crisco and lard. Mmm. This was a fun pie to make. 

First you cook sugar and water on the stove top. Then when it boils and turns tan, add the chocolate chips, vanilla and walnuts. And refrigerate in pie dough for 3 hours.

Very Good!

Japanese Fruit Pie (Pecan Pie)

This pie was a bit lighter in taste than a traditional pecan pie. The filling was made with butter, sugar, pecans, coconut, vanilla and vinegar. It was VERY YUMMY. I really liked it. I am still learning to crimp the crust edge, like on a traditional pie. It has proven it self a lot harder to do than what I thought. So if anyone has any helpful tips on how to crimp crust edges, that would be great! The name for this pie isn't very descriptive, since there is no fruit in it and I didn't know that coconuts grew in Japan, so it might need a re-name. 

I have also solved my shrinking crust problem. Originally I read that you should not stretch your crust or it will shrink. But the problem was that I wasn't stretching my crust and it was still shrinking. So I finally found a new tip that actually works. 

First, roll your crust and place it in the pie plate. Don't do anything to the edges or put filling in it yet. Then refrigerate it for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes put filling in and bake. No More Shrinkage! Hallelujah!!

Apple Pie Monday

Apple Pie

This morning I made an apple pie. My grandma gave me her pie crust recipe because I was having a hard time finding a good one. I think I tried at lease 8 different pie crust recipes and non were perfect. Grandmas crust turned out pretty good. I cooked this apple pie a little too long. So next time I will watch it a little closer, but it tastes great! The secret to this apple pie is that you cook the apples in a pot on the stove top and then you drain the juices. So when the pie bakes, it doesn't turn into apple soup. And I used sanding sugar one top so it gave it some extra sweetness. Yum.