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or a long period in my life pie was my culinary nemesis. When people would use the expression (or is it an idiom?) “easy as pie” I was genuinely confused. Was this a sarcastic statement or were there people in the world who honestly thought pie was easy to make? And, if it was so easy for them to make, what in the world was I doing wrong? I think my lack of interest to conquer making pie came from my lack of interest in pie itself. I was the kid who ate the filling but left the crust behind. When I became a mother and started hosting my own Thanksgiving dinners, I knew this hate-hate relationship I had with pie would have to change. I decided to conquer pie, if for no other reason than to say Thanksgiving dinner had a homemade pie on the table.
I began doing my homework and learned that I probably hated pie because I wasn’t eating quality pie. I learned that there are four types of short-crust pastry (the type of pastry used for making pie). Pate a foncer is a french pastry that includes egg and a small amount of sugar, this pastry is rich and perfect for tarts that shouldnt be overly sweet. Pate brisee is similar to pate a foncer but incorporates more butter allowing for a lighter crust. It usually has little to no sugar and is perfect for savory pies such as chicken pot pie. Pate sucree is made with a little more sugar which inhibits the gluten strands allowing for the perfect crumble and in my opinion creating the perfect pie crust. Pate sablee is basically a shortbread or cookie crust. It very often has the same ingredients as pate sucree but the process for making it involves creaming the butter, sugar and eggs before flour is incorporated. This is the perfect crust for dainty little tea tarts.
What I have learned is that great pie starts with great ingredients. Just because I don’t like to use vegetable shortening in…well anything, doesn’t mean I don’t understand why people use it. Butter has a lower melting point than shortening and lard making them much easier to work with than butter. So the challenge becomes learning tips and tricks that allow you to use the best ingredients, handle the dough less and create a perfectly flavorful, flaky pie crust. Over the years I have tried it all…shortening, lard, a mixture of two fats, all trying to balance flavor with function. I am here to tell you with this recipe and the step by step instructions and tips, you don’t have to sacrifice any flavor. This recipe uses all butter creating amazing flavor in a perfectly flaky crust. I now love making pie and love eating it even more. Please read all of the instructions after the ingredients. This is one recipe that the steps involved are as important, if not more important than the ingredients themselves. Some of my tips may seem crazy…but trust me. This recipe makes baking pie so easy you will become the star of Thanksgiving dinner!
boys in our family get up early to play football. The much anticipated “Turkey-bowl” gets more hype than the Superbowl. It has become such an important part of our holiday festivities, that even before I get the bird in the oven, I get breakfast ready for my Thanksgiving athletes. When they return we eat breakfast while I listen to the stories of all their poultry glory. This post-game breakfast always includes these amazing pumpkin muffins. I often think that if we omitted the muffin paper they would more accurately be classified as cookies…but somehow calling them muffins makes me feel less guilty eating them for breakfast.
kids were never in any danger, they just didn’t know the difference between a cookie press and a gun. They thought it was the greatest thing in the world to pull the trigger forcing dough through the disk and releasing a perfectly shaped cookie on the cookie sheet. These little cookies are so simple and easy to make, yet look so professional. People will assume you bought them at a bakery. My kids are a little older now, but we still affectionately refer to the cookie press as the “cookie gun”. Try these addictive little cookies for your next holiday gathering. They are as much fun to make as they are yummy to eat…just ask my kiddos.
everything. When my girls suggested making pumpkin macarons, I knew they were on to something. The hard part would be to add pumpkin without ruining the structure of the airy cookie. There is no way to add the water content in pumpkin puree to the macaron without breaking down the integrity of the meringue. We decided to add pumpkin pie spice to the cookie portion and the pumpkin puree to the buttercream filling. The moisture of the macaron filling is what helps change the texture of the cookie and create the chewy, nougaty inside of the cookie. This is why it is best to let your cookies sit for 24 hours after baking and filling before serving. The pumpkin buttercream actually aides in this process and creates a perfectly chewy center. So what seemed like an unlikely pairing actually became a symbiotic cookie relationship. Who needs pumpkin pie, when Thanksgiving dinner can now be finished with a macaron!
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