TO MAKE A SHAPELY PIE SHELL, FOLLOW THESE EASY TECHNIQUES
Fit dough into pan; trim pastry with scissors about 1 inch beyond edge of pan.
Turn back pastry; then raise fold, press against pie pan, making stand-up rim.
For a rope rim, pinch with thumb and bent forefinger, making sharp crimps.
Prick shell all over with fork. Bake in very hot oven (450°F.) 10 to 15 minutes.
Banbury Tarts
2 eggs, well beaten
1 cup seeded raisins, chopped
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon soft bread crumbs
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons grated lemon rind
¼ cup walnuts, chopped
¼ teaspoon salt
“Water-Whip” Piecrust, [page 15]
Mix first 8 ingredients.... Roll dough ⅛″ thick and cut in eight 5″ circles. Fit circles into 3″ muffin pans, pinching into fluted rims at top. Fill with raisin mixture. Place cut-out pastry star on top of each tart. Sprinkle stars with red sugar.... Bake in hot oven (400°F.) 30-40 minutes.... Makes 8 tarts.
Mince Turnovers
Use recipe for Piecrust, [page 15] or [16]. Roll dough ⅛″ thick and cut out 5″ circles. On one half of each circle place 2 tablespoons mincemeat. Moisten edge, fold pastry over mincemeat, seal edge with fork. Prick top. Bake in hot oven (425°F.) 10-15 minutes. Makes 8-10.
Golden Egg Pastry
Mix 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour and ½ teaspoon salt. Measure ⅓ cup Spry.
Step 1 for Tenderness—cut in about ⅔ of the Spry until fine as meal.
Step 2 for Flakiness—cut in remaining Spry to size of large peas.
Add 1 egg, slightly beaten, and mix thoroughly into a dough. Use in making Hot N Hearty Steak Pie, [page 12].
To Freeze Pies...
Now the miracle of making pies weeks ahead, freezing them in a home freezer or the freezer section of a refrigerator, and enjoying them fresh from the oven when convenient! Favorites for freezing are double-crust pies like apple, cherry, peach, mince, or berry, also deep-dish fruit and berry pies.
Pies can be frozen unbaked or baked. If frozen unbaked, do not cut steam vents in top crust; wrap in moisture-vaporproof material and seal; label, date, and freeze. To thaw, remove wrappings and cut small steam vents in top crust. Bake in 425°F. oven for 65-70 minutes. If pie is frozen baked, let pie cool thoroughly at room temperature, then wrap in moisture-vaporproof material and seal; label, date, and freeze. To thaw, remove wrappings from frozen pie and heat in 400°F. oven for 25-35 minutes.
Pie shells can be frozen unbaked or baked and kept on hand for use as needed. If pie is frozen unbaked, it is easier to freeze it before wrapping, then wrap immediately in moisture-vaporproof material and store in freezer.... To thaw, unwrap shell and bake in 450°F. oven 5 minutes; reprick shell and bake about 10 minutes longer. If pie shell is frozen baked, let the baked shell cool thoroughly at room temperature, then wrap in moisture-vaporproof material and seal; label, date, and freeze.... To thaw, leave shell wrapped and let stand at room temperature or unwrap and heat in 400°F. oven 5 minutes.
HOW TO “SLIP” A CUSTARD PIE
For creamy custard and crisp crust, bake shell and custard separately ([page 10]).
Loosen the cooled custard, then slide it carefully into baked, cooled pie shell.
Give Your Pie A Pretty Top
A pretty top lends distinction to any pie, be it plain or fancy. A sparkling glaze gives a touch of elegance to a two-crust fruit pie.... To make a glazed top, brush the unbaked pie with slightly beaten egg white and sprinkle with sugar, then bake.... For an extra-brown crust, brush the top crust before baking with milk or light cream, then sprinkle with sugar.
Lattice and Open Tops
Lattice-top fruit pies with colorful juices bubbling up through golden strips of pastry are always a favorite.... The narrow pastry strips can be cut with a pastry wheel or sharp-pointed knife.... For a trellis top, the strips are twisted as they are laid across the filling (Cherry Trellis Pie, [page 9]).... For a woven lattice top, weave the strips over and under one another.... For a crisscross top, lay a first set of seven strips across the filling, then lay a second set over them, making diamond shapes on the filling.... For a spiral top, arrange strips on filling in a spiral effect by starting at the center and twisting and winding around the top six times (Coronation Peach Pie, [page 11]).... A hit-and-miss top offers pleasing contrasts on a prune or raisin pie. Just cut many little odd-shaped bits of pastry from the trimmings and scatter them over the top of the filling before baking.... Whipped cream makes glamorous toppings on soft pies, especially when accented with drifts of grated fresh coconut and curls of shaved chocolate (Regal Cream-on-Chocolate Pie, [page 1]).... Or make a snowy ruff of whipped cream by dropping teaspoonfuls of cream around the rim of the pie, then garnish as shown in Dreamy Banana Cream Pie, [page 5].
Decorative Steam Vents
Small slits or other openings must be made in closed pies in order to let steam escape during baking. These can be extremely attractive and in harmony with the pie filling. For example, on the top crust of a fruit pie, prick or cut the outlines of the fruit used, such as apples, peaches, or plums.... An interesting cherry pie can be made by cutting eight half-inch holes in the top crust to represent cherries. For stems, cut slits.... To personalize a pie, prick the initials of the one you wish to honor.... For a Christmas mince pie, roll the top crust, and cut with small Christmas tree cutter, making 5 trees and pointing the tips of the trees to the rim of the pie. The trees should not be cut out of the dough—merely outlined. Brush the trees with egg white and sprinkle with red sugar.
Perky Pastry Cut-outs
Interesting pastry cut-outs, such as fruits, berries, leaves, chickens, birds, and the like can be applied to pie tops with happy effects (see the cluster of blueberries and leaves on the Deep-Dish Blueberry Pie, [page 2]).... The unbaked pastry “patches” are laid on the top crust before baking and brushed with unbeaten egg white or milk.... Tiny pastry stars, hearts, or crescents can be baked and arranged on the top of a chiffon pie.... For the holidays, Christmas trees or bells can be cut out of pastry and laid atop the unbaked filling.
