The technique behind this recipe is what makes it extra special. Roasting the slices of apples before filling the apple pie allows you to cram over 4 pounds (2 kilos) of apples into one single 9-inch apple pie! This is a technique I also use for rhubarb pie and rhubarb crumble, allowing me to load up my fruit desserts with lots of fruit.

What You Need to Make Maple-Flavoured Apple Pie

• pie crust—I bake most of my pies with all-butter pie crust made in the food processor. You can also make pie dough by hand or use a stand mixer to make flaky crust
• apples—bake pies with the freshest apples you can get. Use apples that can withstand heat without breaking down, such as Cortland (what I generally use), Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Gala, or even Golden Delicious. Don't use Macintosh apples which will turn the filling to sauce
• maple syrup—use pure maple syrup, not pancake syrup (which is flavoured corn syrup)
• maple sugar—you may need additional maple sugar to sweeten the pie filling. It depends on the apples you choose and whether they are very acidic and tart-tasting
• egg—the egg is diluted in a little water for the egg wash that you brush on the top crust before baking. This allows the turbinado or cinnamon sugar garnish to adhere to the top of the pie. You can replace it with whipping cream
• flour—we are using just a little flour as the thickener for the filling because the pre-roasted apples don't need a strong thickener
• cinnamon sugar—garnish the top crust with turbinado sugar or cinnamon sugar

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Variations And Substitutions

• Spices: Sometimes, I add a little cinnamon to the filling or a teaspoon of pumpkin pie or apple pie spice mix
• Vanilla: Sometimes, I add a teaspoon of vanilla bean paste to the filling, but you don't have to. You can also add vanilla extract instead.

How To Make Apple Pie With Roasted Apples

Start by roasting the apples because they will need to cool down completely before you make your pie!

Step 1—Combine sliced apple with maple syrup on two half-sheet pans (image 1) and roast until softened (image 2). Let cool completely, then transfer the roasted apples to a bowl and mix with flour and extra maple sugar (if using) (image 3).

Tip: Make your pie dough before roasting your apples. Then while you work on the apples, your pie dough has time to chill. By the time the apples are done baking, you will be able to roll out the dough and move on to the next steps!

Step 2—Roll out your two disks of pie crust to at least 14 inches wide on a lightly floured surface (image 4). If using a pie crust cutter like my favourite NordicWare pie tool, lay one rolled out crust over top (image 5) and use a rolling pin to roll over the crust on the cutter (image 6) to punch out the detailed pattern (image 7).

If making pie crust from scratch scares you, be sure to check out my pie crust masterclass, which includes video tutorials for making pie crust in the stand mixer, food processor, and by hand!

Step 3—Transfer the cooled apple pie filling to a pie plate lined with the bottom crust (image 8). Trim the excess of dough (image 9) before laying the top crust over the filling (image 10).

Step 4—Tuck the edges of the top crust under the bottom crust (image 11) and crimp the edge all around (image 13) before brushing the surface with egg wash and sprinkling the top with turbinado or cinnamon sugar (image 13).

Step 5—Set the pie on a parchment paper-lined sheet pan (image 14) and bake until golden brown (image 15).

Pie baking tip: Bake the pie on the bottom rack of the oven and start the pie at a high temperature to set the crust before dropping the oven temperature to evenly bake the pie from edge to edge.

Top Apple Pie Tips

As much as I love ALL pie, I hate when I bake a double-crust apple pie and when I pull it from the oven, I find that the filling has shrunk down a good inch or two from the puffed top crust, creating a big gap between the crust and the filling. How do we bake an apple pie without that big gap?

The answer is to soften the apples first. There are a few ways to do so to yield soft and pliable fruit that you can pack more tightly into a double-crust pie:

• macerate the apples in sugar (and a little lemon juice to prevent browning), like for this peach mango pie or this blueberry pie. You can then cook down the juices before filling the pie.
• roast the apples, which is a trick I also used for rhubarb lattice pie, rhubarb crisp, and even this blueberry rhubarb crisp
• poach the apples (like for this wine-poached pear pie)

For this pie, I started with 12 cups of sliced apples (that's 4 pounds of whole apples!). Yes, you read that right: TWELVE cups of apple slices. I roasted the slices for about 45 minutes. They didn't appear to have shrunk that much, but when I compared the volume of apple after baking, I realized I was left with a lot less, like 4-to-5-ish cups. That seemed just crazy to me but I had "so little"  roasted apple that when I later filled the pie plate with the apples, it filled the crust snuggly without having to make a big mound in the centre.

Imagine having to pile 12 cups of apples in a pie for a second. That'd basically be impossible had I not roasted the apples first. Perhaps the only plausible way to get all those raw apple slices into a pie would be to make a pie in a deep dish springform pan, arranging them ever so neatly to avoid any wasted space and gaps. Maybe that would work. Maybe.

APPLE PIE TIP: Roast apple slices before making pie to soften the fruit so that the filling doesn't shrink so dramatically as it bakes! You'll also be able to fill the pie with more apples this way!

Pre-cooking the apples for pie makes the perfect apple pie. The pie cuts beautifully, and there is hardly a gap between the top crust and the apple filling. The filling has an intense apple flavour that isn't masked by a thickener because there's hardly a need for a thickener here. Fine, it takes an extra hour (when you count the time to cool the apples) to prep the apples, but I think it's absolutely worth it.

Easy Decorative Pie Crust

This pie top cutter from Nordic Ware is one of my favourite pie tools! It's super handy for making a decorative top crust quickly. It's basically a giant cookie cutter designed to make a decorative pie crust. Because of its intricacy and its size, it's a little tricky to use because you have to be sure to press evenly and hard enough to cut through the dough. Make sure your rolled-out sheet of dough is cold to make cutting easier. Press firmly and evenly all over. Use a rolling pin, rolled back and forth over the plastic cutter to put even pressure all over so you cut through the dough.

Tip: Inevitably, when you make a pie, you will be left with a pile of pie dough scraps. Gather them up and press them together to shape them into a disk and use them to make pie crust cookies!

If you would prefer a more classic look, read about how to make a lattice pie crust so you can use this technique on your maple apple pie.

Other Apple Baking Recipes

While there's nothing quite like this maple syrup pie or an apple butter pie, this maple apple pie is an excellent pie to bake with fall fruit. Short on time? Try this quick and easy recipe for apple crisp or this easy apple galette instead! And for the more advanced bakers, try the classic apple tarte tatin.

If you tried this recipe for the best maple apple pie (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

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Maple Apple Pie

Even better than a traditional apple pie, this maple apple pie recipe is made with maple roasted apples, which are tossed with maple sugar before pouring into the pie crust and baking. 

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 2 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 3 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings 1 pie

Calories 431kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• Food processor
• Rolling pin
• Metal pie plate
• Pie Top Cutter

Ingredients

Apple filling

• 2 kg Cortland apple(s)
• 234 grams pure maple syrup
• 100 grams maple sugar more or less depending on how sweet your apples are (sometimes I even skip this extra sugar!)
• 30 mL bleached all-purpose flour

All-butter double pie crust

• 312 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 173 grams unsalted butter cold, cut into small chunks
• 5 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 105 mL cold water

Egg wash

• 1 large egg(s) don't add it to the dough! Brush it on the pastry before baking

Metric - US

Instructions

For the filling

• Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Lline two half sheet pans with parchment and set aside.
• Peel and core the apples. Cut them into quarters, then cut each quarter into three.
• Place the apple slices in a big bowl with the maple syrup and toss them to evenly coat them in syrup.
• Divide the slices between the two parchment-lined half sheet pans, arranging them in a single layer. Roast the apples for about 45 minutes, rotating the pans every so often.
• Let the apples cool then toss them with the flour and the maple sugar.

For the crust

• In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour and salt.
• Drop in the cold butter chunks and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse almond meal. Add the cold water and pulse until the mixture forms a dough.
• Divide the dough into two, pat into disks and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 45 minutes.
• Roll out one disk on a floured surface into a 13" disk. Transfer to a metal pie dish and trim the edges to ½". I like this dark metal pie plate available on Amazon.
• Pour filling into the pie and smooth it out.
• Roll the second disk of dough and use the Nordic Ware pie crust cutter to stamp out a pattern from the top crust, then top the pie with the crust. Trim the edge to 1" then fold the excess under. Crimp the edge of the pie.
• Whisk the egg in a small bowl and brush it over the entire surface of the pie crust. Freeze the pie for 45 minutes, then bake the pie on a baking sheet on the bottom rack for 30 minutes at 400ºF, then 50 minutes at 350ºF.
• Let cool slightly before serving.

Notes

• This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
• You can buy maple sugar in many markets and grocery stores in the New England area and the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. You can also order it online from Amazon.

Nutrition

Calories: 431kcal

The post Maple Apple Pie appeared first on The Bake School.

A galette is a single-crust pie or an open-faced pie. Galettes are flatter than pies and they are usually baked on sheet pans so you don't need a pie plate or a special plate to make one. The beauty of the galette is that they are simpler and faster to make.

In this case, we are referring to an open-faced fruit pie that has a single crust with fruit arranged in the centre before baking. Galettes are made from two components: a crust and a fruit filling.

Ingredients

The beauty of the apple galette is in its simplicity. Here's what you need to make it:

• pie crust—this galette is made from an all-butter pie crust. The dough is simply flour, butter, and water, with a little salt for flavour. If you are short on time, head to your local bakery and ask them to sell you pie dough. You will need roughly 450 grams (1 pound) of pie dough for this recipe)
• apple jam—I used a homemade cinnamon apple jam but a good quality store-bought jam is also great
• apples—I used Cortland variety apples, which are a readily available baking apple in my area. These apples are not too sweet
• coarse sugar—I like to use coarse turbinado raw sugar to add crunch to the pastry edges
• milk—I brushed the pastry edge with a little milk to help the coarse sugar stick

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions and Variations

• Apple variety: use apples that hold their shape when baked, so Cortland, Lobo, Spartan, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, HoneyCrisp, etc. Apples like McIntosh or Empire may break down and become more saucy when baked in a galette and may not work well in this recipe.
• Apple filling: I smeared homemade cinnamon apple jam on the bottom crust before layering the sliced apple on top. The jam enhances the apple flavour of the dessert and brings a little sweetness. You can replace this with apple jelly or even apple butter!
• Cinnamon sugar: I usually sprinkle the pie crust edges with turbinado sugar, but you could also use cinnamon sugar which will give the crust more flavour!
• Glaze: I like to brush a little maple syrup over the sliced apples after baking the galette. This sweetens them and also gives them a little colour as they may look a little "anemic". You can also glaze the fruit with a neutral glaze or some melted apple jelly. Both will give the fruit more shine.

How to Make an Apple Galette with Pie Crust

While the instructions indicate to make the dough by hand, feel free to use a food processor or even a stand mixer to cut the butter into the flour. The results will be similar, though with the food processor, if you process the dough more, the butter pieces will be smaller, and your galette crust will be less flaky.

Tip: If making pie crust from scratch scares you, be sure to check out my pie crust masterclass, which includes video tutorials for making pie crust in the stand mixer, food processor, and by hand!

Step 1: Start by whisking the flour and salt together with a Danish dough whisk (image 1) before adding in the cold cubed butter (image 2). I like to toss the butter in the flour to coat all the pieces before proceeding (image 3).

Step 2: Smash each piece of butter in the flour to flatten out the pieces (image 4). You can also use a fast rubbing motion to work the butter into the flour to achieve different textures (image 5). Pour the cold water on top (image 6).

Step 3: Use the Danish dough whisk again to start to incorporate the water (image 8) but you will need to finish working the dough by hand, pressing the pieces together (image 8). Flatten the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap to chill for 30 minutes (image 9).

Step 4: Roll out the chilled dough to a round disk that has a diameter of roughly 14 inches (35.5 cm) and is approximately ⅛ inch thick (3.2 mm) on a lightly floured surface (image 10). Brush the excess of flour away with a pastry brush (image 11). Transfer the dough to a large parchment paper-lined pizza pan to chill while you prepare the apples.

Step 5: Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples. Since this takes time, you may keep the apples in a bowl of acidified water (a mixture of water and lemon juice or apple cider vinegar) (image 12). When you've sliced all the apples, you can strain them and pat them dry before assembling the galette. I use a couple of sheets of paper towel to absorb the excess moisture (image 13). Spread apple jam (or jelly or apple butter) on the surface of the chilled pie crust, leaving a 1.5-inch (3.8 cm) border all the way around, then arrange the thinly sliced apples on top (image 14). Fold the crust edge right over the apples so there are no gaps between the pastry and the fruit (image 15).

Step 6: Brush the folded edge with a little milk (image 16) and sprinkle with coarse turbinado sugar (image 17) or some cinnamon sugar.

Tip: Arranging the apples into a pretty pattern can be intimidating, so feel free to just layer the sliced apples in a more disordered fashion. It doesn't really matter, though the goal is to layer them as tightly as possible so that there are fewer gaps and air pockets in between. As the apples bake, they will soften and cook down, so you want to use a lot of sliced apples to make sure the filling is generous.

Step 7: Feel free to rearrange any of the apple slices to make them neat (image 18) then bake until the pie crust is golden brown (image 19).

Optional step for finishing the galette: Brush the fruit with a glaze like melted apple jelly or a neutral glaze to add shine, or maple syrup (step 20) to add a little colour and sweetness to the decorative apples.

Apple Galette FAQs

More Delicious Apple Recipes

Take advantage of apple season and bake these other apple desserts:

If you tried this recipe for the best apple galette (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

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Easy Apple Galette with Pie Crust

A very simple apple galette recipe made with an all-butter pie crust and lots of sliced apples. You can give the tart a glossy finish after baking by brushing the baked fruit with a little warm apple jelly.

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Chill time 1 hour hour

Total Time 2 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Calories 365kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• Sheet pan
• Rolling pin
• Pastry brush

Ingredients

• 250 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 170 grams unsalted butter cold, cut into little cubes
• 60 mL cold water
• 3 Cortland apple(s) I used large apples but if your apples are smaller, you might need 5 apples to fill the galette
• 125 mL apple jam
• 15 mL skim milk (fat free)
• Turbinado sugar for sprinkling over the crust before baking

Metric - US

Instructions

• Whisk the flour and salt together in a large bowl before adding in the cold cubed butter. You can use a Danish dough whisk or a fork for this.
• Toss the butter into the bowl of the flour and stir to coat all the pieces. Smash each piece of butter in the flour to flatten out the pieces between your fingertips. You can also use a fast rubbing motion to work the butter into the flour between your palms to achieve different textures.
• Pour the cold water on top and use your fork or your Danish dough whisk to start to incorporate the water. You will need to finish working the dough by hand, pressing the pieces together.
• Press all the bits together into a somewhat cohesive mass, flatten it into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 °F (200 °C). Roll out the chilled dough to a 14–15-inch disk (35.5–38 cm). Transfer the disk to a parchment paper-lined sheet pan or pizza pan and chill while you prepare the apples.
• Peel, core, and slice apples as thinly as possible with a knife. This task can take some time: you may want to place the peeled and sliced apples in a bowl of lemon water to make sure the fruit doesn't brown.
• Take the rolled dough out of the fridge, and remove the top sheet of parchment. Brush the apple jam over the crust leaving 1–1.5 inches of crust bare (2.5–3.8 cm).
• Top the apple jam with the sliced apples arranging them in concentric circles to make it pretty and still keeping the 1–1.5-inch edge bare (2.5–3.8 cm).
• Gently fold over the bare crust over towards the middle to make a rustic edge. With your palms, press and push the fold towards the middle a little to “tighten” the galette.
• Brush the crust with milk and sprinkle with the crust coarse sugar.
• Bake for 20 minutes then lower the oven to 375 °F (190 °C) and bake for another 30–40 minutes until the crust is golden brown delicious and the apples are soft.
• Let cool about 20 minutes before serving

Notes

• Apple variety: use apples that hold their shape when baked, so Cortland, Lobo, Spartan, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, HoneyCrisp, etc. Apples like McIntosh or Empire may break down and become more saucy when baked in a galette and may not work well in this recipe.
• Apple filling: I smeared homemade cinnamon apple jam on the bottom crust before layering the sliced apple on top. The jam enhances the apple flavour of the dessert and brings a little sweetness. You can replace this with apple jelly or even apple butter!
• Cinnamon sugar: I usually sprinkle the pie crust edges with turbinado sugar, but you could also use cinnamon sugar which will give the crust more flavour!
• Salt: This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
• Glaze: I like to brush a little maple syrup over the sliced apples after baking the galette. This sweetens them and also gives them a little colour as they may look a little "anemic". You can also glaze the fruit with a neutral glaze or some melted apple jelly. Both will give the fruit more shine.

Nutrition

Calories: 365kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 87mg | Potassium: 132mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 572IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 2mg

The post Apple Galette With Pie Crust appeared first on The Bake School.

This apple butter pie is packed with flavour because apple butter is so concentrated. Using apple butter is a trick I use in many apple recipes to give them more apple flavour without adding excess moisture, like in these apple cupcakes or this apple butter cake. It also makes a great filling in these stuffed apple pie scones.

If you've never made pie crust before, please read about how to make an all-butter pie crust in the food processor. This pie crust is easy with simple ingredients and holds its shape when baked.

You don't need too many tools to make a pie, thankfully, and if you don't want to use a food processor to make the dough, you can make pie dough in a stand mixer if you prefer, or just use a bowl and your fingertips! All roads lead to pie.

Apple Butter Pie Ingredients

Like pumpkin pie, this apple butter pie is made from an all-butter pie crust with a custard filling, meaning it is made with cream and eggs, which help it set into a creamy but sliceable pie.

• flour, preferably bleached all-purpose flour
• sugar—granulated and light brown sugar, as well as a little maple syrup
• butter, preferably unsalted butter. If using salted butter, you may want to cut back on the salt in the pie crust recipe
•  Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• eggs, preferably large eggs otherwise your filling might not set properly
• apple butter
• spices, specifically a combination of warm spices, including ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, ground cloves
• cream, specifically whipping cream (with 35 % fat content)—lower fat cream may result in a looser filling that is less rich

Please refer to the recipe card for exact quantities.

Substitutions and Variations

With its simple list of ingredients, changes to this recipe are limited obviously, but here are a few to consider:

• Pie crust: instead of making pie crust from scratch, you can use a pre-made all-butter pie crust from your local bakery. You may be able to find a crust that is already rolled out
• Spices—instead of a mixture of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves, you can replace these with a pumpkin spice mix that you like or even an apple pie spice mix.
• Apple butter—you can use homemade apple butter or store-bought. If you can't find apple butter and don't want to make it, your best bet would be to replace it with canned pumpkin and make a pumpkin pie instead

How to Make Pie with an Apple Butter Filling

The process of making a pie with an apple butter filling is similar to making a pumpkin pie! It's quite easy!

If you are unfamiliar with pie crust, please read this post about how to make pie crust in the food processor, which includes step-by-step photos of the process.

If making pie crust from scratch scares you, be sure to check out my pie crust masterclass, which includes video tutorials for making pie crust in the stand mixer, food processor, and by hand!

Alternatively, you could use a store-bought pie crust for this recipe if you are short on time.

Step 1: Combine the ingredients of the apple butter pie filling in a medium bowl using a small balloon whisk. I like to first mix the eggs and brown sugar together (image 1), then incorporate the apple butter and spices (image 2), and finally the cream (image 3). Whisk until completely smooth (image 4). Cover the bowl and set aside the filling for later.

Step 2: Par-bake the pie crust in a metal pie plate on a sheet pan, lining the chilled unbaked crust with parchment paper (image 5) and pie weights or beans. Bake the pie crust until the edges are set (image 6), then remove the pie weights and parchment (image 7), and continue baking until the bottom of the pie looks dry (image 8).

Step 3: Brush the parbaked crust with egg wash to seal it as soon as it comes out of the oven (image 9), then fill the pie (image 10) and smooth the top with a mini offset spatula (image 11).

Step 5: Bake the pie at 375 °F on a sheet pan (image 12) until the pie has set and the centre still jiggles slightly (image 13).

Step 6 (optional): You can decorate the pie before serving using a stencil and icing sugar. Chill the pie completely (image 14), then place a stencil over the filling (image 15) and dust lightly with icing sugar before carefully removing the stencil (image 16).

Apple Butter Pie FAQs

If you are looking for a pumpkin pie alternative for Thanksgiving dinner, this apple butter pie is a welcome change, but not a total deviation. It would be great served alongside this gorgeous maple apple pie. And for those who insist on following tradition, you can still make a more traditional pumpkin pie without evaporated milk.

More Pie Recipes to Try

If you love to bake (and eat) pies, here are a few more pie recipes to try:

If you tried this apple butter pie recipe (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

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Apple Butter Pie

Apple butter pie is a great pumpkin pie alternative for Thanksgiving dinner. It's made just like an easy pumpkin pie from scratch, with an all butter crust you make in a food processor.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 45 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Servings 10

Calories 456kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• Food processor
• Metal pie plate
• Rolling pin
• OXO balloon whisk

Ingredients

Easy all butter pie dough

• 258 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 10 mL granulated sugar
• 173 grams unsalted butter cut into cubes, cold
• 83 mL cold water

Egg wash

• 1 large egg(s)
• 5 mL water
• 1 pinch Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt

Apple butter pie filling

• 3 large egg(s)
• 100 grams light brown sugar
• 60 mL pure maple syrup
• 480 grams apple butter
• 5 mL ground cinnamon
• 2.5 mL ground ginger
• 1.25 mL ground nutmeg
• 0.625 mL ground cloves
• 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 188 mL whipping cream (35 % fat)

Metric - US

Instructions

All-butter pie crust

• In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour with the salt and sugar. Add the butter and pulse to form a coarse crumble with butter lumps.
• Add the water, and pulse to combine. You can continue to run the processor to form a ball of dough or do this on your work surface by hand.
• Divide the dough into two disks, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for 1 hour.
• Roll out the first disk of dough to about a 12 inch diameter disk or so on a floured surface with a rolling pin. Transfer to a metal pie plate and make sure to work the dough into the corner edges of the pie plate. Trim the edges and place the pie shell in the fridge.
• Roll out the second disk of dough to a very long rectangle that is about 15 inches long and ⅛ inch thin. Cut thin strips of dough, then braid the strips together, three at a time.  
• If you don't want a braided edge, you can cut out some leaf shapes (or apple shapes!) with the dough instead.

Egg wash

• In a small bowl, whisk together the egg with the water and salt.
• Brush the edges of the chilled pie shell with the egg wash, then press the braids (or cutout shapes) to the brushed edges to stick them onto the edge. You can weave the ends of the braids together for a seamless look.
• Place the pie shell in the fridge and chill for 20 minutes.
  
• Make sure you have the bottom oven rack set at the lowest position. Preheat the oven to 425 ºF (220 °C).
• Line the chilled pie crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans.
• Bake the pie crust for 20 minutes until the edges are set.
• Remove the pie shell from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Carefully lift off the parchment with the pie weights. Set aside. Put the pie shell back in the oven and continue to bake for another 3–5 minutes until the bottom looks dry and set. The edges will be a light golden brown.

Make the filling and bake the pie

• Drop the oven temperature to 375 °F (190 °C).
• In a large bowl, whisk together all the apple butter pie filling ingredients. When the pie shell has chilled, carefully pour the pie filling into the shell.
• Place the pie in the oven and bake until the edges of the filling are set but the centre still jiggles a little (this takes 35 to 45 minutes). The crust will be deep golden brown and the pie filling will finish setting as it cools. 
• Place the baked pie on a wire rack to cool completely before serving.
• Optionally, you can stencil the top with a decorative pattern using a doily and a dusting of icing sugar

Notes

• For the pie crust, I used a Cuisinart 11-cup food processor. I quite like it. You can find it on Amazon.
• I like to bake my pies in a metal pie dish, like this dark metal pie plate available on Amazon or a USA pie pan (my new favourite pie pan!). The metal is a good heat conductor so the pie crust heats up fast and bakes to a lovely golden brown colour.
• Par-baking the pie crust before filling with the apple butter pie filling ensures the crust is properly baked and golden brown on the bottom.
• I used Eden organic apple butter for the filling, which you can find on Amazon or at organic food stores in Canada. If you are in the US, you might have an easier time finding Musselman's apple butter on Amazon, but note that Musselman's apple butter may be sweeter.
• This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
• To achieve the look you see in the photos, I stencilled a lace pattern onto the surface of the pie by gently placing a piece of lace on the surface of the pie and dusting it generously with powdered sugar.

Nutrition

Calories: 456kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 124mg | Sodium: 162mg | Potassium: 156mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 818IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 2mg

The post Apple Butter Pie appeared first on The Bake School.

This sweet potato pie is a great alternative to the classic Thanksgiving pumpkin pie! The formula and method for both are very similar and also resemble this delicious apple butter pie! In each case, the main difference is the purée used.

Ingredients

To make this maple bourbon sweet potato pie, you will need a disk of all-butter pie crust. You can either get it from your local bakery or you can make it from scratch, using a food processor, a stand mixer, or by hand. Here's what you need to make this pie recipe:

• pie crust—I prefer to make my pumpkin and sweet potato pies with a par-baked all-butter pie crust to ensure that the bottom of the pie crust is fully baked in the end
• sweet potato purée—homemade sweet potato purée is best
• cream—use whipping cream with a fat content of 35 %. Don't use a lower fat cream because the filling may not be as smooth and creamy
• maple sugar—I prefer to bake most recipes with maple sugar instead of maple syrup because the flavour is concentrated and you don't have to worry about the additional moisture the syrup would bring to the recipe
• bourbon—I used Jack Daniel's, which is referred to as Tenessee Whisky (basically bourbon) with a flavour profile that pairs well with the flavours of this pie
• eggs— I used large eggs. Let them come to room temperature before using them
• spices—warm spices like ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves
• salt—I bake with Diamond Crystal Fine Kosher salt. Add half the amount if you are baking with regular table salt
• vanilla—I like to bake with pure vanilla extract (the real kind)

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions and Variations

Instructions

I like to make sweet potato and pumpkin pies with a par-baked pie crust to ensure the bottom crust is completely baked. No soggy bottoms! For this recipe, you will need to prepare a pie crust. Follow this recipe for perfect pie crust by hand.

Here are the steps to make this sweet potato pie, including how to par-bake the crust:

Step 1—Start by par-baking your pie crust. Dock it with a fork (image 1) to prevent air bubbles as it bakes, then line the pie shell with parchment paper and fill it up to the top with pie weights or dry beans (image 2). Once the pie crust has set, you can remove the pie weights and continue baking the crust until it looks dry (image 3). As soon as you take it out of the oven, brush the surface of the crust with an egg wash to seal it (image 4). Let the crust cool down.

Tip: I don't brush the crust edges with egg wash because they have enough time to brown nicely given the crust is par-baked and baked again.

Step 2— Combine the sweet potato pie filling ingredients (image 5) and whisk them until smooth (image 6). Pour the sweet potato pie filling into the par-baked pie crust (image 7).

Step 3—Place the unbaked sweet potato pie on a sheet pan (image 8) and bake it until the edges are set but the centre still jiggles (image 9). The sweet potato will flatten as it cools and it may crack a little (image 10).

Step 4—Don't worry about any cracks that form, the filling will still be moist and delicious. Once the pie has cooled completely, you can decorate the pie (and cover the cracks!) with pie crust cookies and homemade whipped cream (image 11). Freshly grate a little nutmeg over top.

Hint: Flavour the whipped cream with a little bourbon to bring out the flavour of the pie filling.

If you tried this recipe for maple bourbon sweet potato pie (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

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Maple Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie

Learn how to make the best sweet potato pie with this easy recipe. The sweet potato pie filling is made without evaporated milk or canned milk, using whipping cream instead, and flavoured with maple sugar, bourbon, and fall spices.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Chill time 1 hour hour

Total Time 2 hours hours 40 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Calories 233kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• Leaf cutter

Ingredients

• 1 9-inch pie crust edges crimped, unbaked

Egg wash

• 1 large egg(s)
• 10 mL water
• 1 pinch Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt

Sweet potato pie filling

• 465 grams sweet potato purée preferably homemade
• 188 mL whipping cream (35 % fat)
• 150 grams maple sugar
• 60 mL bourbon
• 3 large egg(s)
• 10 mL vanilla extract
• 2.5 mL ground cinnamon
• 2.5 mL ground nutmeg
• 1.25 mL ground ginger
• 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 0.625 mL ground cloves

Garnishes (optional)

• pie crust cookies
• 375 mL sweetened whipped cream flavoured with a splash of bourbon (see notes below)

Metric - US

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 425 °F (220 °C). Move the oven rack to the lowest level of the oven.
• Retrieve the pie shell from the fridge. Dock the pie crust with a fork to create little air holes for steam to escape. Line with a big square of parchment and fill the pie with dry beans or pie weights, enough to fill the pie shell up to the top of the crimped edges.
• Par-bake the pie crust for 15 minutes.
• Remove the pie shell from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Carefully lift off the parchment with the pie weights. Set aside. Put the pie shell back in the oven and continue to bake for another 3–5 minutes until the bottom looks dry and set.
• Take the par-baked pie shell out of the oven. Lower the oven temperature to 350 °F (175 °C).

Egg wash

• Whisk together the egg, water, and a pinch of salt while the pie shell is baking.
• As soon as the par-baked pie crust comes out of the oven, brush the bottom and sides with egg wash but do not brush the edges! Let the pie shell cool completely while you make the filling. Save the leftover egg wash for the pie crust cutouts.

Sweet potato pie filling

• In a large bowl (preferably one with a pouring spout like this), whisk together the filling ingredients until thick, creamy, and homogenous.
• Once the par-baked pie shell has cooled, pour the filling in it.
• Bake the sweet potato pie until the edges are set but the centre still jiggles a little. This takes 40–45 minutes.
• Take the pie out of the oven and place on a cooling wrack. Let the pie cool to room temperature before serving. 
• Decorate with whipped cream and pie crust cookies before serving.

Notes

• If you are short on time, use a store-bought pie crust. I prefer to use frozen pie crust from my local bakery, made with butter.
• Use canned sweet potato purée if you don't have time to make it fresh. But I prefer to use homemade purée.
• This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
• I used Jack Daniel's as my bourbon of choice, which is a Tennessee whisky (basically bourbon)
• If you notice that lumps of sweet potato in the filling, strain it through a fine-meshed sieve before pouring into baked crust to smooth out the lumps.
• Par-bake the crust before filling to ensure that it will bake properly to a golden-brown crispy crust.
• Bake the filled pie until the filling is set around the edges but still jiggles slightly in the middle.
• I like to make homemade pie crust cookies using the pie crust scraps and the leftover egg wash. Sprinkle them generously with cinnamon sugar. I like to use the harvest cookie cutter set for creating decorative pie crust cookies to top fall pies and you can buy the set on Amazon.
• For the bourbon-flavoured whipped cream, I whipped 190 mL (¾ cup) of whipping cream (35 % fat) with 18 grams of icing sugar and 10 mL (2 teaspoons) bourbon. You can omit the bourbon and add a splash of vanilla bean paste instead.

Nutrition

Calories: 233kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 118mg | Sodium: 121mg | Potassium: 128mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 549IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Maple Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie appeared first on The Bake School.

One of our favourite ways to enjoy maple syrup, besides in maple fudge and maple cream cookies, is in a maple syrup pie, which is usually served in the spring during the sugaring-off season and the months when maple syrup is produced (March and April).

A maple syrup pie is also referred to as a maple pie or even a sugar pie. Maple pie is traditionally a single-crust pie with a filling made of eggs, maple syrup, milk or cream.

The maple filling is adapted from a recipe printed on the lids of some cans of Quebec maple syrup. The original recipe called for brown sugar, but I used maple sugar because I didn't want any other sugar flavours interfering with my beloved maple. The filling is like a maple custard that is perfectly set, smooth, and with a pronounced maple flavour. I encourage you to serve this pie à la mode with homemade vanilla bean ice cream.

What You Need to Make This Maple Pie

• pie crust—store-bought or homemade (you can make pie crust in the food processor, pie dough by hand, or flaky pie crust in a stand mixer)
• maple syrup—use a medium or dark maple syrup which has more flavour. Don't confuse maple syrup and maple-flavoured pancake syrup (which is corn syrup)
• maple sugar—available in grocery stores and farmer's markets in the North-East of the US and Eastern Canada, but you can also buy it online
• eggs—use large eggs or the texture of the filling may be looser or firmer
• milk—I prefer to make this pie with whole milk (3.25 % fat)

Inevitably, when you make a pie, you will be left with a pile of pie dough scraps. Gather them, press them together to shape them into a disk, and use them to make pie crust cookies!

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions and Variations

• Sugar—Some add brown sugar to the filling, in which case, less maple is used. Though brown sugar does add a nice molasses flavour to the filling, some may add more brown sugar than maple syrup to reduce the costs of making maple pies since brown sugar is much cheaper than maple syrup and maple sugar. For this maple pie, I used a combination of maple syrup and maple sugar.
• Flour—Some recipes also add a little flour to the maple pie filling which acts as a thickener and also ensures that the consistency of the filling is more even throughout the pie after baking. Without the flour, you may notice a little maple syrup between the filling and the baked crust.

Whether or not you add flour to the filling is a matter of personal preference. Maple pie is, by far, one of my favourite maple syrup recipes.

How To Make a Pie With Maple Syrup

Maple pie is as easy to make as most single crusts pies, like these pumpkin tarts or this apple butter pie:

1. Make the pie dough: The crust is made from an all-butter pie dough made in the food processor, so it truly doesn't get easier than that.
2. Chill the pie dough: Chilling the pie dough helps the gluten relax a little and allows the butter to firm up. The water in the recipe hydrates the flour as the dough chills, making the pie dough easier to work with.
3. Roll out the pie dough and line the pie pan: I like to use a French rolling pin and a metal pie plate when I make pies. I find I have more control when I roll out doughs with tapered French rolling pins and the metal pie pans help the bottom crust bake better and brown more. Here's an example of a dark metal pie pan from Amazon and a French rolling pin from Amazon so you can see examples of what I mean.
4. Chill the unbaked crust while you make the filling
5. Whisk together the maple pie filling ingredients, a mixture of maple syrup, maple sugar (or brown sugar), eggs, and milk.
6. Pour the filling into the chilled unbaked pie shell.
7. Bake the pie. The filling will puff and bubble and you may end up with a few caramelized spots. All signs of a good maple pie.
8. Cool and chill. The toughest part of making a maple pie is the waiting because not only does the pie have to cool to room temperature, but then you also have to chill it in the fridge for several hours to ensure the filling is properly set. Patience!

If making pie crust from scratch scares you, be sure to check out my pie crust masterclass, which includes video tutorials for making pie crust in the stand mixer, food processor, and by hand!

If you are looking for a more traditional fall fruit pie with lots of maple syrup flavour, try my maple apple pie. Or if you hate making pie dough, you might prefer this maple apple clafoutis recipe.

This maple pie recipe makes a great maple-flavoured sugar pie. I baked this pie on the bottom rack of my oven, without blind baking the shell first, and it was baked just enough on the bottom. I appreciate being able to skip the blind baking step. Ain't nobody got time for that!

If you tried this recipe for the best maple syrup pie (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

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Maple Syrup Pie

A recipe for maple syrup pie, also known as sugar pie or tarte au sucre in Quebec. The texture of the filling is quite similar to a custard pie. 

Course Dessert

Cuisine Canadian

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings 12 slices

Calories 261kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• Food processor
• Rolling pin
• Metal pie plate
• OXO balloon whisk

Ingredients

For the crust

• 219 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 115 grams salted butter cold, cut into cubes
• 75 mL cold water more or less

For the maple filling

• 250 mL pure maple syrup medium grade
• 100 grams maple sugar
• 2 large egg(s)
• 188 mL whole milk (3.25 % fat)

Metric - US

Instructions

• In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the flour and the Stirling Creamery butter until the mixture resembles a fine crumble. Add the water, bit by bit, until a dough forms. Pat the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375 °F (190 °C). Roll the dough to ⅛" thick (~14" diameter circle) and transfer to a pie tin (preferably dark metal). Trim and crimp the edges. Chill while you prepare the filling
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the syrup, sugar, and eggs, then whisk in the milk.
• Pour the filling into the chilled tart shell and bake on the bottom oven rack for approximately 50 minutes (note the filling will still seem very fluid and jiggly, but you will notice some spots where it's beginning to bubble and brown).
• Let the pie chill on a wire rack for at least 4 hours, then overnight in the fridge.

Notes

• This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
• I like to make pie crusts with higher-fat European butter (82–84 % fat) if possible. 

Nutrition

Calories: 261kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 82mg | Potassium: 143mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 305IU | Calcium: 68mg | Iron: 1mg

Other recipes to make with maple syrup

Maple syrup is such a unique source of sweetness that adds so much flavour to recipes. Maple syrup tastes great and can be used to make:

1. maple butter, also known as maple cream, a creamy maple spread made from pure maple syrup
2. maple apple pie, where you use maple syrup to flavour the apples in a traditional double crust apple pie
3. maple cinnamon buns with layers of maple sugar rolled in between layers of buttery brioche
4. maple walnut fudge, a classic fudge flavour that is always a hit

I do my best to bake with the finest ingredients. Stirling Creamery, a Canadian company, has provided the butter for this post.

The post Maple Syrup Pie appeared first on The Bake School.

This is my go-to pie crust recipe that I like to make by hand. I used this recipe to make this gorgeous apple galette and this maple bourbon sweet potato pie. The basic principles and techniques are the same as for making pie crust in the food processor or pie crust in a stand mixer.

Ingredients

You only need a few ingredients to make pie dough and you likely have them all in your pantry and fridge! Here's what you need:

• Cold water or even ice water ensures that the butter stays cold, making it easier to handle and creating a flaky crust that isn't overly greasy.
• Flour—bleached all-purpose works great in doughs like this
• Salt—I use Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt, but if you'd like to use regular table salt, use half the amount, otherwise, the crust may be too salty
• Butter, specifically unsalted butter, though salted will work too (adjust the salt in the recipe accordingly)

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions and Variations

Instructions

Making an all-butter pie crust by hand isn't hard. It's all about technique and practice. Remember to keep the ingredients cold. If you find the butter is getting too soft or warming up, chill the bowl of ingredients in the fridge at any stage of the process to firm up the butter.

Step 1—Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl (image 1). Drop the cold cubed butter on top of the flour (image 2) and toss the cubes in the flour to coat them all (image 3).

Step 2—Smush each flour-coated butter cube between your fingertips to flatten them all out (image 4) and work the butter into the flour by rubbing it between your palms quickly and briefly. The goal is to create an uneven mixture of butter and flour with lots of different textures (flat pieces and granular pieces like in image 5). Drizzle the cold water over the pie crust mixture (image 6).

Hint: you want your pie crust to have lots of thin flat-pieces of butter coated in flour, which will lead to a flaky texture. You don't want large chunks of butter on the surface of the dough because that will lead to butter melting and leaking out of the pie crust. The butter has to be worked into the dough sufficiently to create layering without escaping.

Step 3—Use a fork or a Danish dough whisk to work the water into the pie crust mixture (image 7). Eventually, switch to mixing by hand, to gather all the bits together and mix the moistened and dry bits together into a shaggy dough (image 8). Press the dough into a disk (or two) and wrap it in plastic wrap to chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out and using it (image 9).

Storage

You can store plastic-wrapped disks of pie crust in the refrigerator for up to a week (maximum 7 days). Refrigerated pie dough will take on a grey-ish tint if stored for too long.

For longer storage, freeze the dough. To free disks of pie dough, wrap them twice in plastic wrap and then store them in a freezer bag with the air removed. I store several disks in a large bag and pull out one or two as needed.

To defrost pie dough, leave it in the refrigerator overnight to slowly thaw before using. Do not defrost on the counter as it may sweat, and the outside may soften and warm up too much before the inside has a chance to defrost, leading to trouble when you have to roll it out.

Pie Crust FAQs

Related

Now that you know how to make perfect pie crust by hand, try this technique with these pie recipes:

If you tried this recipe for pie crust by hand (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

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Perfect Pie Crust by Hand

Learn how to make the perfect pie crust by hand with this easy recipe. This is an all-butter pie crust without lard or vinegar. Just simple ingredients mixed by hand to achieve the best pie crust. This recipe makes one 9-inch pie crust with enough scraps to make pie crust cookies for decorating your pie.

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Chill time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings 1 9-inch pie crust+scraps

Calories 213kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• Danish dough whisk
• Rolling pin
• Pastry brush

Ingredients

• 250 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 170 grams unsalted butter cold, cut into little cubes
• 60 mL cold water

Metric - US

Instructions

• Whisk the flour and salt together in a large bowl before adding in the cold cubed butter. You can use a Danish dough whisk or a fork for this.
• Toss the butter into the bowl of the flour and stir to coat all the pieces. Smash each piece of butter in the flour to flatten out the pieces between your fingertips. You can also use a fast rubbing motion to work the butter into the flour between your palms to achieve different textures.
• Pour the cold water on top and use your fork or your Danish dough whisk to start to incorporate the water. You will need to finish working the dough by hand, pressing the pieces together.
• Press all the bits together into a somewhat cohesive mass, flatten it into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using it.

Notes

• This recipe makes a single pie crust with scraps that you can reroll to make pie crust cookies. This is enough dough for one large galette (12–14 inch finished size) or one regular 9-inch pie decorated with pie crust cookie cutouts.
• Substitutions and Variations
  • Sugar—it's optional but just a little sugar helps to bring out the flavours and also helps with browning. A tablespoon is all you need for this amount of dough.
  • Butter—you can replace the butter with leaf lard or shortening (like Crisco), but the texture and flavour will be different. You can also replace unsalted butter with salted butter, but to do so, you will have to reduce the salt in the recipe to compensate, or else the crust may be too salty.
  • Flour—you can use a mix of flours, like use part all-purpose and part whole wheat or rye, just don't replace 100 % of the flour with an alternative because the dough may be more difficult to work with and behave different, especially if the gluten is lower (or if there is none).
  • Water—some people will use cold vodka instead of cold water or cold water with a splash of vinegar. Either way, the goal is to reduce gluten formation in the dough, but in my experience, gluten development isn't much of an issue with the food processor method.
  • Salt—This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
  •  

Nutrition

Calories: 213kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 62mg | Potassium: 31mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.1g | Vitamin A: 425IU | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Perfect Pie Crust by Hand appeared first on The Bake School.

The holiday season is hectic, and you need a reliable pie crust recipe to get you through all the pie-making. This all-butter pie crust made in the food processor is exactly what you need!

This is the pie crust I use to make this double-crust maple apple pie and this blueberry pie, among others. It's my go-to recipe!

Ingredients

You only need a few ingredients to make pie dough and you likely have them all in your pantry and fridge! Here's what you need:

• Flour—bleached all-purpose works great in doughs like this
• Sugar—just a little sugar helps to bring out the flavours and also helps with browning
• Salt—I use Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt, but if you'd like to use regular table salt, use half the amount, otherwise, the crust may be too salty
• Butter, specifically unsalted butter, though salted will work too (adjust the salt in the recipe accordingly)
• Cold water or even ice water ensures that the butter stays cold, making it easier to handle and creating a flaky crust that isn't overly greasy.

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions And Variations

Using A Food Processor To Make Dough

The beauty of using a food processor to make pie crust is that the machine can cut the fat (in this case, butter) into the flour without the butter warming up (like it would if you did this step with your hands).

You don't need many tools to make pie. For this recipe, you will use the regular food processor blade (sometimes called an "s-blade" because of its shape). This recipe fits a standard 11-cup (or larger) food processor. I use a Cuisinart food processor, but I've also successfully used a KitchenAid food processor.

Note: This recipe will not fit a smaller or mini food processor (also called a mini food chopper). These smaller appliances only have a 3.5-cup capacity, which is too small for the ingredient quantities in this recipe.

Step 1: Cut the cold butter into small cubes and set it in the fridge to keep it cold.

Step 2: Combine all the dry ingredients in the bowl of the food processor. You can use the pulse setting to evenly mix them together.

Step 3: Add the cold cubed butter to the food processor bowl with the dry ingredients.

Step 4: Pulse the butter into the dry ingredients to form an uneven, coarse crumble. You will notice some slightly bigger pieces of butter (like a chickpea or large bean size) and smaller pieces.

Step 5: Add the cold water to the food processor.

Hint: Use the pulse setting to incorporate the water into the dough. The dough should clump together and the flour should look moistened, with very few dry bits left.

Step 6: Mix the ingredients to form a shaggy dough. When you incorporate the butter, the goal is to cut it into the flour so that the butter is coated in flour but also so that much of the flour is coated in fat. This reduces gluten formation in the next steps.

Step 7: Use your hands to shape the dough into a flat disk. Shape the dough into a round flat disk if you are making a round pie in a pie plate or galette on a half sheet pan. Shape it into a square or rectangular shape if you are making a square or rectangular pie or galette (like if you are making pie on a quarter sheet pan)

If making pie crust from scratch scares you, be sure to check out my pie crust masterclass, which includes video tutorials for making pie crust in the stand mixer, food processor, and by hand!

Roll out pie dough on a floured surface to prevent it from sticking, using a rolling pin, like a French rolling pin with tapered edges.

Make sure to roll the dough to a thin, even layer, rolling out the dough from the middle of the disk to the edges. Continuously slide the dough around to make it even and also to verify it's not sticking. Use more flour as needed.

Storage

I always divide double-crust recipes into two disks of dough to store wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to a week (7 days).

For longer storage, you must freeze the dough. To freeze disks of pie dough, wrap them twice in plastic wrap and then store them in a freezer bag with the air removed. I store several disks in a large bag and pull out one or two as needed.

To defrost pie dough, leave it in the refrigerator overnight to slowly thaw before using. Do not defrost on the counter as it may sweat, and the outside may soften and warm up too much before the inside has a chance to defrost, leading to trouble when you have to roll it out.

If you tried this recipe for the food processor pie crust (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

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Easy All-Butter Pie Crust Made In A Food Processor

Learn how to make pie crust in a food processor with this easy recipe. This makes enough dough for a double crust pie. It rolls out beautifully, without cracking, and holds its shape in the oven.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, British

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Chill time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Calories 202kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• OXO kitchen scale
• Food processor
• Metal pie plate
• Pastry cutter

Ingredients

• 312 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 15 mL granulated sugar
• 5 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 173 grams unsalted butter cut into cubes, very cold
• 100 mL water cold

Metric - US

Instructions

• In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the cold butter and pulse to form a coarse crumble.

  Add the water and pulse it in, then let the food processor run just until the dough comes together. I bought my Cuisinart Food Processor on Amazon.
• Divide the dough in two and transfer both pieces to your work surface. Shape each piece into a disk. Wrap both in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour before rolling out on a floured surface with a rolling pin.

Video

Notes

• This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
• This recipe makes a double-crust pie. You can halve this recipe to make a single-crust pie, or use half now and freeze the other half for later, wrapped tightly in 2 layers of plastic wrap and stored in a freezer bag with the air removed.
• If the dough gets too warm at any point, put it in the fridge.

Nutrition

Calories: 202kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 196mg | Potassium: 31mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 360IU | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Pie Crust In A Food Processor appeared first on The Bake School.

Let the mixer do the work should be your motto whenever possible, especially when it comes to longer pie recipes that may have a lot of steps. And while you can't use a mixer to make an entire pie, you can make pie crust with a stand mixer very easily, and the results will be a flakier than a pie crust made in a food processor. I used this pie crust to make this deep dish quiche with Swiss chard, which is baked in a springform pan.

Ingredients

You only need a few ingredients to make pie dough and you likely have them all in your pantry and fridge! Here's what you need:

• Flour—bleached all-purpose works great in doughs like this
• Sugar—it isn't enough to make the crust sweet, but just a little sugar helps to bring out the flavours and also help with browning (sugar is optional and you can skip it if you want)
• Salt—I use Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt, but if you'd like to use regular table salt, use half the amount, otherwise the crust may be too salty
• Butter, specifically unsalted butter, though salted will work too (adjust the salt in the recipe accordingly)
• Cold water or even ice water to ensure that the butter stays cold, making it easier to handle and to create a flaky crust that isn't overly greasy.

See recipe card for quantities.

Substitutions And Variations

With only a handful of ingredients, your pie crust substitutions are limited:

• Butter—you can replace the butter with leaf lard or shortening (like Crisco), but the texture and flavour will be different. You can also replace unsalted butter with salted butter, but to do so, you will have to reduce the salt in the recipe to compensate, or else the crust may be too salty.
• Flour—you can use a mix of flours, like use part all-purpose and part whole wheat or rye, just don't replace 100 % of the flour with an alternative because the dough may be more difficult to work with and behave different, especially if the gluten is lower (or if there is none).
• Water—some people will use cold vodka instead of the cold water or cold water with a splash of vinegar. Either way, the goal is to reduce gluten formation in the dough, but in my experience, gluten development isn't much of an issue with the food processor method.

Once you know how to make pie dough, you can start to get creative:

• Warm spices—add a little cinnamon and ginger to the flour before adding the butter (try 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon and 1½ teaspoons ground ginger)
• Cheese—some people like to add shredded cheddar cheese to the dough to make a cheese-flavoured pie crust, especially for apple pie.

As always, if you decide to try a substitution, take note of what you did, your experience, and the results so that you can learn and make modifications next time. I cannot guarantee that changes or substitutions will lead to the same results.

Instructions

You don't need many tools to make pie. In order to make pie crust in a stand mixer, obviously you need an electric mixer. This recipe fits a standard 5-cup (or larger) stand mixer. I use a KitchenAid Artisan mixer (5-quart bowl size) or a Pro mixer (6-quart bowl size). A 4.5-quart bowl size would also work, but the smaller mini 3.5-quart mixers may be too small for this volume of flour and butter.

The beauty of using a stand mixer to make pie crust is that the machine can flatten the fat (in this case, butter) into thin sheets into the flour without the butter warming up much (like it would if you did this step with your hands). This creates a more flaky pie crust.

For this recipe, you will use a regular stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Make sure your butter and water are cold. Keep them in the fridge until you are ready to make your pie crust.

Step 1: mix the dry ingredients in your mixer bowl, then add the cubes of cold butter.

Step 2: Mix the butter into the dry ingredients to form an uneven, coarse crumble. You will notice some slightly larger pieces of butter that are flattened into thin sheets and smaller pieces.

Step 3: Add the cold water to the mixer bowl.

Step 4: Mix the water into the dough until it becomes to clump. The dough will look very shaggy with a few dry spots at the bottom of the bowl.

Hint: Use the lower mixer speed settings to incorporate the water into the dough. The dough should clump together and the flour should look moistened, with very few dry bits left.

Dump the shaggy dough onto a big sheet of plastic wrap to shape it into a disk (or two disks if you are making a double crust).

You must chill the dough for at least 30 minutes to solidify the butter before rolling. Otherwise your dough will be too soft to handle when it's rolled.

If making pie crust from scratch scares you, be sure to check out my pie crust masterclass, which includes video tutorials for making pie crust in the stand mixer, food processor, and by hand!

Roll out pie dough on a floured surface to prevent it from sticking, using a rolling pin, like a French rolling pin with tapered edges.

Make sure to roll the dough to a thin, even layer, rolling out the dough from the middle of the disk to the edges. Continuously slide the dough around to make it even and also to verify it's not sticking. Use more flour as needed.

Hint: If your dough becomes too soft to handle, put it back in the fridge. Some people like to roll out pie dough on a piece of parchment for this reason: it makes it easier to slide the parchment paper with the dough onto a sheet pan to chill in the fridge at any moment!

And here are a few double-crust pies to try:

• Rhubarb pie
• Blueberry pie
• Maple apple pie
• Peach mango pie

See more pie recipes.

Don't forget to save your pie scraps to make pie crust cookies sprinkled with cinnamon sugar!

If you tried this recipe for the best stand mixer pie crust (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

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Easy All-Butter Pie Crust Made In A Stand Mixer

Learn how to make a flaky pie crust in a stand mixer with this easy recipe. This makes enough dough for a double crust pie. It rolls out beautifully, without cracking, and holds its shape in the oven.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, British

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Chill time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Calories 202kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• OXO kitchen scale
• Metal pie plate
• Pastry cutter
• 6-quart KitchenAid Pro mixer or a 5 quart mixer

Ingredients

• 312 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 15 mL granulated sugar
• 5 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 215 grams unsalted butter cut into cubes, very cold
• 100 mL water cold

Metric - US

Instructions

• In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, and salt.
• Add the cold butter and mix it in to form a coarse crumble with thin sheets of butter.
• Add the water and stir it in on low until a shaggy dough forms.
• Divide the dough in two and transfer both pieces to your work surface. Shape each piece into a disk. Wrap both in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour before rolling out on a floured surface with a rolling pin.

Video

Notes

• This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
• You can halve this recipe to make a single-crust pie. Or freeze half for later, wrapped tightly in two layers of plastic wrap, then stored in an airtight freezer bag.
• If the dough gets too warm at any point, put it in the fridge. Otherwise the crust will be greasy and less flaky. Keep the butter and the dough cold.

Nutrition

Calories: 202kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 196mg | Potassium: 31mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 360IU | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Pie Crust in a Stand Mixer appeared first on The Bake School.

What You Need To Make a Lattice Top Pie

• One unbaked fruit-filled pie crust with edges that are untrimmed
• A second portion of dough that has been rolled out on a floured surface (or on parchment paper) to roughly 10x15 inches—I like this all-butter pie crust made in the food processor
• A long ruler or a measuring tape, at least 10 inches long
• A pizza wheel, pastry wheel, lattice cutter, or a pairing knife
• Kitchen scissors

Please ensure you have a dedicated measuring tape or ruler in your kitchen that you use only for food to avoid cross-contamination.

If making pie crust from scratch scares you, be sure to check out my pie crust masterclass!

Cutting Strips Of Pie Dough

Cutting even strips of dough can be tricky. I like to use a ruler and a pizza wheel to make the job easier! These two tools combined work well together and help you cut straight, even strips.

• For a fat lattice, you need to cut 7 strips of dough that are 1.5–2 inches wide. Given that we need 7 strips to weave the lattice, I recommend rolling the sheet of dough to a rectangle of 10 inches x 15 inches, roughly. These dimensions will give you enough excess to trim the edges so they are neat. Check out this blueberry pie recipe to see a fat lattice.
• For a thin lattice, you need to cut 12 strips of dough that are 1 inch wide or less. Check out this rhubarb pie to see a finer lattice.

Finer lattices take longer to weave. Keep this in mind when you are deciding what you want to do.

Fun fact: you can vary the width of the strips of dough to weave a lattice of thick and thin strips for a fun effect. You can even braid very thin strips and use the braid as a strip in the lattice!

How To Weave a Fat Lattice Pie Crust Top

To create a fat lattice, you will need 7 wide strips of dough that are roughly 1.5–2 inches wide and at least 10 inches long.

• Steps 1–4: arrange 4 strips of pie dough horizontally and parallel to each other across the top of the filled pie.

• Step 5: Fold back the second and fourth strips (basically every second strip) toward the middle.
• Step 6: Place a strip of dough vertically crosswise over the two remaining strips.
• Steps 7–8: Unfold the two folded strips over the vertical strip to form the first lattice weave.

• Step 9: Fold back the first and third strips toward the middle this time.
• Step 10: Place a strip of dough vertically crosswise over the two remaining strips.
• Steps 11–12: Unfold the two folded strips over the vertical strip to form the second lattice weave.

• Step 13: Fold back the second and fourth strips (basically every second strip) toward the middle.
• Step 14: Place the last strip of dough vertically crosswise over the two remaining strips.
• Steps 15–16: Unfold the two folded strips over the vertical strip to form the third and last lattice weave.

How To Weave a Thin Lattice Pie Crust

You will need twelve 1-inchx10-inch strips of pie dough for this technique.

• Steps 1–4: Arrange 6 strips of pie dough vertically and parallel to each other across the top of the filled pie.

• Step 5: Fold back the second, fourth, and sixth strips (basically every second strip) toward the middle.
• Step 6: Place a strip of dough horizontally crosswise over the three remaining strips.
• Steps 7–8: Unfold the three folded strips over the horizontal strip to form the first lattice weave

• Step 9: Fold back the first, third, and fifth strips toward the middle this time.
• Step 10: Place a strip of dough horizontally crosswise over the three remaining strips.
• Steps 11–12: Unfold the three folded strips over the horizontal strip to form the second lattice weave.

• Step 13–16: Repeat this weaving pattern with the remaining 4 strips of dough. Remember that for each additional strip, you need to alternate which dough strips of the lattice are folded and unfolded as described

Once your lattice is done, you need to trim the lattice strips around the edges and then fold the bottom crust over the ends of the strips. Trimming the excess lattice strips is essential to make sure the edge isn't overly thick.

Crimp around the circumference of the pie for a finished look.

Ways of modifying the lattice pie technique

Once you've mastered the lattice pie crust technique, you can get creative:

• Diamond lattice: instead of arranging pie dough strips horizontally and vertically, perpendicular to each other, you can arrange the strips on a diagonal, at an angle, to create a slanted lattice
• Braiding: you can braid 3 skinny strips of dough (less than ½-inch wide) to create a 10-inch braid that you can weave into the lattice. Treat the braid as you would a single strip of dough.

Lattice pie crust alternatives

If you aren't in the mood to weave a lattice, you can still jazz up your next pie with these decorative pie crust techniques:

• cut out decorative shapes as in this peach mango pie where the top crust is created from layers of cutout stars
• create shaped vents using a pie crust cutter or cookie cutters to stamp out a pattern, like for this maple apple pie
• twirl twisted pie strips like the top of this bacon and egg pie
• make a crumble topping instead like for this whiskey peach pie and classic Dutch apple pies

Tips and tricks for baking fruit pies

Here are a few tricks you can use to make sure you bake the perfect fruit pie with a golden brown crust and a set filling every time:

• Bake your fruit pies on the bottom oven rack;
• Start baking pies at a higher temperature, like 425 °F to set and bake the bottom before lowering the temperature to 400 °F to continue cooking the filling;
• Bake your fruit pies on a sheet pan lined with parchment to make cleanup easier because a properly baked pie with a thick fruit filling will likely boil over;
• Bake fruit pies for over an hour and ensure the filling is bubbling in the middle to ensure the center is heated through. This is especially important for pie fillings with juicy fruit like summer berries and rhubarb.

Lattice pie crust technique FAQs

The post How To Make a Lattice Pie Crust appeared first on The Bake School.

Pairing blueberries with almonds

If you asked François Chartier why two flavours work well together or why certain foods will play well with each other, he'll tell you that it's because they share a common thread, and that thread is a compound that both foods possess. He's written a book on the subject: "Taste Buds and Molecules," which is a really awesome read and one that I'd highly recommend, especially if you are curious about flavours and molecules and food-wine pairings (it's even been translated into English and is available on Amazon).

Following that train, we could probably explain why almonds and blueberries work well together. We know benzaldehyde is responsible for that deep almond flavour, and I'm quite sure it's also present in blueberries, at least to a small extent. Is that why blueberries and almonds work so well together? I guess the short answer is maybe! Almonds go well with apricots, cherries, and many types of berries, all of which contain benzaldehyde.

In my mind, blueberries and marzipan are a delightful match. The British call pies filled with almond cream or frangipane and fruit (or jam) "Bakewells," so I guess that's actually what these are. I'm still calling them pie. If you aren't a fan of frangipane, you can always make these blueberry hand pies. Or you can always make blueberry white chocolate cookies.

Almond cream ratio

Almond cream is made from equal parts by weight of ground almond, butter, and icing sugar. The French baking term for equal parts is tant-pour-tant. There's an egg mixed into this mixture that adds richness, and flavour, and also binds the ingredients together, making it more creamy than a straight nut + butter + icing sugar mixture would be on its own.

Though many bakers use the terms almond cream and frangipane interchangeably this isn't quite true. Almond cream is an ingredient in frangipane. Once you've made the almond cream, you can mix it with pastry cream (crème pâtissière) to make the frangipane. In this recipe, we are using almond cream, which is also the filling for a classic galette des rois.

What to do with pie dough scraps

Inevitably, when you make a pie, you will be left with a pile of pie dough scraps. Gather them up and press them together to shape them into a disk and use them to make pie crust cookies!

📖 Recipe

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Blueberry Almond Mini Pies

These mini blueberry almond pies are very similar to the British bakewells: little pies filled with almond cream and fruit (or jam)

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 45 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings 30 mini pies

Calories 158kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• Round cutters
• Rolling pin
• Pastry brush
• Sheet pan

Ingredients

Pie dough

• 400 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 200 grams unsalted butter diced and kept very cold
• 125 mL cold water
• 1 pinch Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt

Almond cream filling

• 100 grams unsalted butter room temperature
• 100 grams icing sugar
• 100 grams ground almonds
• 1 large egg(s)
• 2.5 mL pure almond extract

Assembly and finishing touches

• 150 grams fresh blueberries
• 1 large egg(s) for the egg wash
• icing sugar for dusting at the end

Metric - US

Instructions

Pie dough

• In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the flour with the butter and salt until the mixture ressembles a fine crumble. Drop in the water, and pulse again. I gave the food processor a good run until the dough wasn't moving.
• Transfer the dough to your work surface and split it in 2. Give each half a good pressing to form 2 discs of dough, then wrap them tightly and put them in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Almond cream filling

• Cream the butter with the icing sugar, then add the ground almonds mixing it in really well, and finally the egg and almond extract (I did all this by hand with a spatula in a medium bowl). Cover the bowl and place it in the fridge.

Assembly and finishing touches

• Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C) and line a cookie sheet with parchment. Roll out one half of the dough to about ⅛ inch thick, and cut out 3 ¾ inch circles (almost 4 inches).
• Place 2 levelled teaspoons of almond cream in the middle of each circle, and top with 3 or 4 blueberries.
• Brush the rim of each pastry round with egg and pinch into an open-centered triangle.
• Refrigerate the mini pies for 30 to 45 minutes
• Transfer the mini pies to the parchment-lined sheet pan. Bake the mini pies on the bottom rack for 15 minutes, then switch to the middle rack and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes.
• Let cool then dust with icing sugar before serving.
• Reroll the scraps to make more pies, and continue with the second disk of dough.

Nutrition

Calories: 158kcal

If you are baking with blueberries and you notice the blueberries turned green or changed colour as they bake, don't panic. That could be the effect of pH on the colour of the berries, but that has zero impact on the flavour of the berries.  

The post Blueberry Almond Mini Pies appeared first on The Bake School.