Now don’t worry this is easy.
Method #1
Buy a Marie Callendar's unbaked pie. You’ll find them in the freezer section of the grocery store. The Apple or Mixed Berry ones are great. Buy a pie plate the same size as the frozen pie. They are in the housewares department of Walmart. When you get home set the pie out on the counter until it’s thawed enough to get it free of its pie plate and carefully transfer it to your glass pie plate. About half an hour or a little less should be about right. Gently press pie towards the edges of your pie plate until they connect. If the crust cracks a little you can press it back together when it is softer. Homemade pies aren’t perfect anyway so a few small cracks look more authentic. Preheat your oven for about 20 minutes and bake according to the box directions. The crust should be medium brown and the juice should have bubbled up through a couple of places. Now when you are asked if you made your pie you can truthfully say” Yes, I baked this pie.” and bow to the complements. If this seems like a slippery slope towards deception then use Method #2.
Method #2
You will need:
- a deep-dish pie plate
- a box of Pillsbury pie crust found in the cooler section by the Pillsbury biscuits. There are two crusts per box, please no other brand
- lemon juice –Two tablespoons You can use bottled Real Lemon brand juice
- Ground Cinnamon – 1 Tablespoon
- Ground Cloves – 1 teaspoon
- Brown Sugar – ½ cup
- Butter – 1 stick
- 2 cans of Apple Pie Filling
- All-purpose flour – 3 Tablespoons
Most of these items are found in the Baking aisle.
Putting the pie together:
1. Set the 2 pie crusts out on the counter to warm slightly about 10-15 minutes until they will unroll easily but aren’t too soft to handle.
2. Center one crust into the pie plate making sure the bottom is flat and the top edges overlap the top edge of the pie plate so you can stick the top crust to the bottom crust.
3. In a bowl mix gently and completely.
- 2 cans of apple filling
- 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon of Ground Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of Ground Cloves
- ½ cup of brown sugar
Pour half into the pie plate over the bottom crust. Sprinkle the top of the filling with 1 ½ Tablespoons of flour and dot the top with thin slices from half of the stick of butter.
Pour the other half of the filling into the pie and again sprinkle evenly across the top with 1 ½ Tablespoons of flour and thin slices of the last half of the stick of butter.
4. open the roll of the second crust leaving it lying on the counter. With a sharp knife and using dotted lines cut an A in the center and circle the A (about 2 inches away from the A) with small slashes that look like sun rays coming off of the A in the center. Dip your fingers in water and dampen the edge of the bottom crust so the top will fasten to it. If you have a rolling pin or a 2-liter pop bottle carefully roll this crust on to the rolling pin, center the A on the pie and roll the crust off the rolling pin onto the pie. You need to crimp the top crust to the bottom either by using 3 fingers laid on the edge then squeeze together to make a fluted edge. Do this around the whole pie. or press the tines of a fork down on the edge gently and do this all the way around the pie.
Now balance the pie on one hand and slice off all overhanging crust till the edge looks smooth.
Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for approximately one hour until the crust is medium brown and the juices have bubbled out of a few of the cuts. Cool it and serve it and enjoy the compliments as you rightfully say, “I made this pie.”
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