The Everything Pie Cookbook (2 page)

Kelly Jaggers

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THE

PiE

cookBook

i n c l u d e s:

Apple Pie with a Spicy Cheddar Crust • Salted Peanut Pie •

Spinach, Mushroom, and Swiss Quiche • Pomegranate Cream

Cheese Pie • Blackberry Cheese Tart . . . and hundreds more!

Kelly Jaggers

Avon, Massachusetts

This book is dedicated to anyone who loves

to bake. Embrace your bliss.

Copyright © 2011 by F+W Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced

in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions

are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

An Everything® Series Book.

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Published by Adams Media, a division of F+W Media, Inc.

57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322 U.S.A.

www.adamsmedia.com

ISBN 10: 1-4405-2726-1

ISBN 13: 978-1-4405-2726-5

eISBN 10: 1-4405-2758-X

eISBN 13: 978-1-4405-2758-6

Printed in the United States of America.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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Contents

Introduction . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix

1
Pie .Basics . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Ingredients for Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Pie-Making Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Techniques for Perfect Pastry Crusts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Pie Varieties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Tips for Special Diets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Storage and Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

2
Crusts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
19

3
Toppings .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

4
Traditional .Favorites .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

5
Fruit .Pies .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

6
Cream .Pies . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

7
Custard .Pies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
91

v

8
Nut .Pies .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

9
Citrus .Pies .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113

10
Tarts . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

11
Rustic .Tarts . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

12
Holiday .Traditions . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161

13
Potpies .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

14
International .Flavors . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

15
Ice .Cream .Pies . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

16
Hand .Pies . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

17
Special .Occasion .Pies . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

18
Quiches .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

19
Pies .for .Special .Diets .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283

Appendix .A: .Glossary .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

Appendix .B: . .Sources .for .Pie-Making .Supplies .
. . . . . . . . 302

Index .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304

v i

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I want to thank my mother, Carol, for taking the time to

instill in me a love of cooking and baking. Your love and constant support

are appreciated more than you know. I want to thank my father, Howard,

for always being an honest and appreciative critic. You tell it like it is . . .

and yes, I know it needs more cream cheese. To my friends on Twitter and

Facebook, and to those who follow my blog, please know you inspire me

to be better, to work harder, and to find all that is delicious in life.

Finally, I want to thank my husband, Mark, for all the little things, for all

the big things, and for talking me off the ledge more times that I care to

discuss. You know how much I love you, how much I appreciate you, and,

maybe most important, how invaluable you are to me as a taste tester. I

could not do it without you.

Introduction

PIE, IN ITS MOST basic form, is a baked food with a filling that is prepared

in a pastry and often topped with a pastry crust or other topping. The tradi-

tion of pie spans the globe, with most cultures having some sort of pie that

speaks to the food and the people of that region. What gives pie its univer-

sal appeal is that it can be made with what is available fresh, such as meat,

produce, grains, and dairy, but it can also be made with preserved ingredi-

ents. In fact, pies are a great way to perk up preserved, dried, or frozen fruits,

meats, and vegetables.

Pies, in one form or another, have been around for centuries. Originally

created as a method of food preservation, pies were also used as a way

to make food easier to transport. The first recorded information regarding

pies goes all the way back to the ancient Egyptians. Their pies more closely

resembled modern freeform tarts called galettes and were filled with grains,

fruit, and honey. Ancient Greeks made record numbers of pies, both sweet

and savory, and with the Romans, pie spread across Europe. Encasing meat

or fruit in a pastry crust made pies a preferred food for traveling, so pies

were popular with the military and on sea voyages.

The term pie comes from medieval England where pastry cases, or “cof-

fyns” as they were called, were used to house fillings. The crusts were very

tough, being used primarily as the cooking vessel. Among the wealthy the

filling was the only thing eaten and the crusts were given to the less fortu-

nate or the servants. Pies traveled across the sea to America with the Pil-

grims, who created new recipes to use what was locally available. Fruit pies,

as they are known today, were most likely perfected by the Pennsylvania

Dutch and became popular. As Americans settled the West, pies became

a staple of most meals, with pioneer cooks making as many as twenty-one

pies in a week!

Pies come in all shapes and sizes and can be served for breakfast, lunch,

dinner, and dessert. When it comes to dessert, the most popular flavor in

C h a p t e r 2
  C o n t e n t s

i x

America is apple. The phrase “as American as apple pie” speaks not only to

the pie’s popularity, but to what is considered traditional and wholesome.

Since pies—and apples for that matter—are not originally from America,

the phrase can also be seen as a nod to America’s immigrant culture. Aside

from apple, other popular flavors include chocolate, pecan, and coconut.

Pie is a comfort food, bringing back memories of home, love, and tradi-

tion. Mile-high meringue pies found in roadside diners are the stuff of road

trip legend. In the South, deep-fried pies, often served with a tall glass of ice-

cold lemonade, can be found in shops dotting the landscape. Pies filed with

ice cream and candies are a staple of many ice cream shops and grocery

stores. In the days after Thanksgiving, potpies made with leftover turkey and

vegetables are often as anticipated as the big meal itself.

Delicious as pie is, it has a reputation for being difficult to prepare. Hor-

ror stories of tough, flavorless crusts and runny fillings have some too intimi-

dated to try making a pie from scratch, and that is a shame. It does not take

long to develop the skills needed to make good pies, and of course the more

pies you make, the better you will become. So roll up your sleeves and get

ready for a very tasty journey!

x

Chapter 1

pie Basics

The first step in creating the perfect pie is to understand

the pie-making process. From technique to ingredients, a

good pie begins with knowledge. Happily, pie is pretty sim-

ple, and you only need to learn some basic fundamentals

before getting started. In this chapter you will learn how

ingredients function, what tools you need and how to use

them, ways you can get ahead, and tips that will help you

make better pies.

1

Ingredients for Success

A pie is only as good as the ingredients used to make it. Understanding the

ingredients and how they function in recipes is one of the most important

things any baker can learn. When you know how certain ingredients act in

a recipe, it is easier to make substitutions or identify and correct problems.

Creating new recipes, or making changes to an existing recipe to suit your

personal preferences, will be more successful when you understand how

ingredients function in the overall formula.

Flour

In most cases all-purpose flour is the best option for pie making. All-