I mentioned in my last post that I make apple pie every Thanksgiving. You'd have to kill me to get my apple pie recipe. However, I can give you some tips on pie crusts that you can use on any pie and tips on making apple pies. You can use the crust for pecan pie, pumpkin pie, or any other pie that you'd like to make this holiday.
A few quick tips on apple pie. First, use more tart apples. I know, it's counter intuitive but sweet apples are just not as good in pies as tart apples are. Second, and this is probably a matter of personal preference, slice your apples thin. If your recipe calls for an apple cut into 1/8ths, cut them into 1/16ths. If you're using an apple corer you can slice through once, hold the apple together with your hand and then shift the corer to split the slices in half (but move your hand before you press down on the corer again). My final tip for apple pie is that crumb top pies always seem to be much more loved than the traditional pies. Use Earth Balance for your crumb top instead of butter. I will admit it takes a bit longer but it's worth it to keep the pie vegan.
On pie crusts... pie crusts always have 3 or 4 basic ingredients so there's nothing super special that you can put in them to make them more awesome than the next crust. So why do some taste so much better than others? It's all in the technique. First, keep the water and the margarine ice cold. Second, when mixing the dough don't mix thoroughly. Keep chunks of margarine something along the size of a walnut. Third, once you've mixed the dough (not thoroughly), wrap it up and refrigerate it for about 30-45 minutes to let it settle. My final tip is that if you're new to making pie crusts from scratch you should look for a step by step instructional video online. I'm sure there are a zillion out there.
Stay tuned, post-Thanksgiving you'll see pictures of my apple pie in my fancy new pie dish.
No comments:
Post a Comment