Bake Club - Pie

I hosted our second Bake Club meeting and decided to go with something "basic" - good pie!

I know I am a bit biased, but my mom makes the BEST pies and pie crust! I found out that she got her pie crust recipe from my Great Aunt Mildred who was known for her pies.

Here are my Great Grandma Helen and her sister, Mildred.

* I'm going to take this opportunity to brag about my Great Grandma Helen. My main memory of her was watching her play at her piano into her 90's. I was always amazed at how beautifully she played, how lively her music could be. She used to play the piano for the silent movies!!! And now, her piano sits in my living room. I feel so honored to have her piano, and I take the time to play it every now and then. Memories of her at the piano always come back to me when I do.

Ok, back to pie.

So my mom was a special guest at our Bake Club meeting, giving us step by step instructions in making the perfect pie crust. My sister was in town, so she was able to join us as well!

We all shared pie-making horror stories, and therefore a few laughs. And we were all pretty amazed that Maren was able to roll out a perfect circular pie crust. I think she was pleasantly surprised too!

The secret? I still don't know, you'll have to ask her!

Some of us even tried our hand at little dough cut-outs for decorating. My sister did this for her chicken pot pie, which turned out very pretty.

Cari's pie

Hungry yet?

Here's the recipe for my Great Aunt Mildred's pie crust:

Recipe for single-crust pie (double if making top crust, too)

1 - 1/3 C flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 Cup (heaping) Crisco (it's worth it, trust me!)

2 Tbs ice water

1. Stir flour and salt with fork. Mix Crisco in with hands. Dough should start to stick together. Pour in water and work with hands (do not overwork). Add flour if too sticky; add more Crisco if too dry.

2. If making double crust pie, divide the dough in two parts, with one part being slightly larger (this will be the bottom crust). Roll between wax paper.

3. Place bottom crust in pie pan. Add prepared fruit into crust (use your favorite pie recipe to prepare fruit). I used apples and blueberries because that's what I happened to have on hand! I will find out tomorrow how it tastes, it's our Easter dessert!

4. If using top crust, gently place on top and crimp edges. Cover crust with foil (see picture below) and bake according to the pie recipe you are using. For the last 10 minutes of baking, take pie out, take the foil off, brush crust with milk and sprinkle with sugar. This adds a wonderful sweetness and crunch to the crust!

Enjoy!!

Stay tuned for next Bake Club: danishes!