Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Crust

It's no secret I have been baking pies every week for a mission trip that some of the young moms are taking this next spring. Pie making and I go w-a-a-a-y back. My grandmother taught me when I was about 6 or 7 years old and since my mom hated cooking and baking, pie making was delegated to me. I felt like such a big girl helper, I would proudly pull a chair over to the counter and mix up the crust and roll it out and put it in the pan while mom cut up apples. Being little, I didn't know that pie crust was supposed to be hard to master, I just did what grandma taught me and mom always made sure to praise my talents. Kids belong in the kitchen at an early age, it's a great way to build practical skills and confidence in the kitchen!
The old saying easy as pie is so true, just find a recipe that works for you (mine is straight out of Betty Crocker), and know that your shortening or butter or whatever fat you use (lard is best according to grandma and I can't argue with that!) has to be cold and it has to be incorporated into little pea size lumps in the flour. If you can remember that, you can make pie crust.
 The problem is, there is always pie crust left over. I hate wasting all those good ingredients, so I squish the trimmings all together, roll them out and would usually cut them up, brush them with egg wash and then sugar and cinnamon. Last fall we found this set of adorable pie crust leaf cutters at Williams-Sonoma. They were ridiculous price and we wistfully passed them up. I went back after Thanksgiving and they were marked way down. I snatched them up and used them as a stocking stuffer for Earl last Christmas. As I was making pie crust last week I remembered them and pulled them out. They are so perfect for Autumn!
They were adorable and since I had made an all butter crust that week they were flakey and flavorful too. I also made a batch of lemon curd and I spooned a little on top for a treat :>)  If you make pie, remember it's easy, making some cute cinnamon sugar treats is a great way to not waste the leftover pie crust. These would even be fun in a cellophane bag with a small jar of jam for a gift!
What is your favorite thing to bake in the fall?

12 comments:

  1. Yummmmmmy. I like to bake pumpkin cookies.

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  2. Apple cakes and breads --- with big chunks of apple showing and a lovely crunchy cinnamon crust. Yum!

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  3. Probably my favorite thing to bake is a pie. I do make my pie crust with lard because it was the way I was taught way back when! My daughter makes her crust with butter - a recipe my Mom worked up just for my daughter! I love your crust leaves. They are darling. And lemon curd??? Oh my goodness, I love lemon curd!! (I also love your darling tea cups!) - Dori -

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  4. My mother always cut the left over crust into strips and sprinkled them with cinnamon and sugar. I do the same for my little grand-girls! - Dori -

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  5. Those are so cute! I usually roll out the left over dough, sprinkle it with cinnamon and sugar, then roll it into a log. Slice the log into pieces and bake. Now I want to go buy those cute leaf cutters!

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  6. I'm totally with you - I love baking pies in the fall/winter months. What a cute idea - leaf pie crust cookies! And your setting with tea - beautiful!

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  7. these are adorable! I used to do the same thing, except use cookie cutters because my children loved them!

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  8. I could write a book about pie crusts I have ruined! My dear mother's pie crust was the best. It was tender and flaky and perfect - until her major heart attack over twenty years ago. Then she could no longer use butter or shortening and she tried to use oil but it just wasn't the same. I never learned the secrets to good pie crust so I buy mine and don't tell anyone (shhh!)I didn't make it. My mom used to make little cinnamon squares, triangles and twists with left-over pie crust. What kind of tea were you drinking? That Autumn leaf at the end of the string on the tea bag has me wondering.
    ~Adrienne~

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  9. Umm...leftover pie crust is NEVER a problem!

    We used to do the same with leftover dough but we would just do it in oddly shaped strips which my great grandmother had always done. We called it Grandma Jenny's pie crust. Thanks for the reminder! Now I totally want to bake a pie. Also? Lemon curd is my love language.

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  10. ummm, i love left over pie crust dusted with sugar and cinnamon. I don't have the cute leaves...might go over to WS and check them out.
    My Aunt Lola taught me to make pie crust...a NO FAIL crust, when I was very young. I use her same recipe to this day. :)

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  11. They are adorable. I've got my two leaf cutters on the counter awaiting some cookies one day.
    I love to tease mama about one Thanksgiving...her pumpkin pie had crust shapes of turkeys and hatchets around the edge (sick, right?!) I know that hatchet cookie cutter was to be used for cherry pies b/c of George Washington...not killing turkeys LOL...she gets so tickled she doubles over when I bring it up.

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  12. They look both beautiful and delicious! I might have to try this myself the next time I make a pie. :-) I like to bake bread in the autumn, I find it so comforting. Just the other day I made a hearty walnut bread which turned out pretty well, the recipe is here if you're curious: http://nordiccraft.blogspot.se/2014/10/rustic-walnut-bread-recipe.html

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