If one things scares me in the kitchen, it’s dough. We only had pie once a year in my house, one pumpkin and one apple.. All homemade by my father that we would dish out on Thanksgiving day to anyone who would eat them, because we didn’t. That is my whole pie experience  All 26 years of it. When I think pie, I think fruit filled, gooey, warm filled crispy golden crust creations. Key word in there being fruit. Fruit is something I am still not down with. Now cake, cupcakes, cookies, brownies… Yeah, I think I have those covered. But pie? Even if you look back through here with a fine tooth comb, you’re not going to find any fruit pies. Pumpkin doesn’t count. And I always had the idea that pie dough was crazy labor intensive and hard to get right. But – I am here to prove that all wrong!

This holiday season, I have vowed to get over my fear of dough and conquer that flaky golden crust and test my hand at some classic pie recipes. I asked around for tips and got some wonderful ideas on Facebook. I will be experimenting and sharing the results. So far I have tabbed about 15 cookbooks and magazines and am trying to narrow down the results. For the month of November I will be posting one traditional pie recipe a week. Stay tuned because I have a fun giveaway planned for pie month too!

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Tart Cranberry-Cherry Pie

From BGH Special Interest Publication Fall Baking

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup cornstarch
  • 2 tbs crystallized ginger, minced
  • 1 teas zested orange peel
  • 4 1/2 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened pitted tart red cherries
  • 1 cup fresh cranberries
  • 1 recipe Double-Crust pie dough (below)
  • Milk for brushing
  • Granulated sugar for dusting

Preparation:

In a large bowl stir together the sugars, cornstarch, ginger, and orange zest. Add the cherries and cranberries. With a light hand, toss gently to coat. Let stand about 15 minutes. If using frozen cherries, let stand about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Roll out one half of the pie dough on a lightly floured surface. Gently lay the dough in a 9″ in pie plate and press into the plate. Trim the pastry 1/2″ past the edges. Do not fancy up your edges yet.

Roll out the other portion of dough and cut into strips. Set aside.

Pour the cherry mixture into the prepared pie shell. Weave the cut dough strips over the cherry mixture. Trim any excess. Fold the bottom dough over the edges and crimp as desired. Brush the pastry with milk and sprinkle heavily with granulated sugar.

Place the pie on a baking sheet lined with aluminium foil. Loosely cover the edges of the pie with aluminium foil to prevent over browning.

Bake for 30 minutes if using fresh fruit, 50 if frozen. Remove foil and bake for 25-35 minutes longer until filling is bubbly and pastry is golden.

Cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

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Double-Crust Pie Dough

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 3/4 teas salt
  • 2/3 cup shortening
  • 8-10 tbs ice cold water, divided

Preparation:

In the bowl of your food processor pulse the flour and salt to mix. Add the shortening and pulse with short bursts until the mixture resembles cornmeal with a few larger pieces remaining. Through the feed tube, quickly add 7 tablespoons of water. Pulse until mixture just comes together. If needed, drizzle in remaining water 1 tbs at a time. Scrape down the sides and pulse two more times. Gather the mixture into a ball, kneading gently until it holds together. Divide dough in half and shape each portion into a thick disk about 4 inches wide.

Wrap each portion in plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold and firm, about 1 hour.

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16 Comments

  1. I can’t wait! That’s a gorgeous pie – what do you have to be afraid of? Happy to test any of these out for you….

  2. Okay, I have trouble keepping up with all my blogs, but this…this had me running over here from Twitter, if only to gaze longingly…

  3. You of all people afraid of dough?! I call bullshit.

    Your pie looks amazing!! It is really nothing to be afraid of. Although I have been around pie making my entire life with my baker of a mother. She used to have me help with the dough making all the time. I have the savory and sweet pie crust down to a science now. If you ever want to try her recipe let me know, I would gladly share it!

  4. Oh man! Cranberry-Cherry Pie…wiping my drool. 🙂 And you went all out…even lattice topping and all…freakin’ gorgeous!

  5. Gorgeous pie, it looks so good! I never have had much luck with making pie crust. I need to try again I think!

  6. I used to be a bit dough-phobic as well, and then I started making the Cooks Illustrated Foolproof pie dough and that sort of changed my life. I’m completely obsessed with CI so it was bound to happen. Oh, and I so need to pin this pie. Gorgeous.

  7. I’m totally terrified of dough too but it seems like you conquered your fears quite well! This pie is absolutely stunning! You’re totally inspiring me to get over my dough fear since I do want to make an awesome pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving!

  8. It’s always good to tackle those kitchen fears. Pie dough is something that just takes a bit of practice. Keeping the butter very cold is the most important thing, I’ve found. This pie is gorgeous so I’m excited to see what else you make.

  9. Yippee, you did it! That turned out beautifully. If you do not think you can handle fruit pies, there is always chocolate and butterscotch and peanu butter and…

  10. You totally conquered your fear of dough! I’m very afraid of dough, yeast, well mostly baking in general and have been trying to work on them. Your lattice is so pretty! When it’s a round pie, I love seeing classic lattice on pies! This looks delicious and gorgeous Kita!

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