Let me give you a little history-- I am a terrible cook. Ok, that's a lie. I can make a killer baked ziti, taco casserole, or Crock Pot chili. But I can't look at a fridge and cabinets with random food and think "yes, I know exactly what to make." Matt? He's the king of that. He can look at what I think are bare cabinets and an empty fridge and end up with an incredible meal. I am so thankful for that, especially because the majority of the time, what he ends up making is healthy as well!
When we have kids, they will say "my dad makes the best _______!" But I want our kids to say "my mom makes the best carrot cake/pumpkin pie/oatmeal cookies!" Of course, they will only eat those things for special occasions (we hope), but I want to be that mom. All of that being said, back in the spring, I decided that I wanted to try to conquer the pie world. And by "conquer the pie world," I meant that I wanted to make a pie 100% from scratch. Not a pre-made crust with a so-so filling. I mean an awesome crust with a delicious filling-- something that when people ate it, they thought "wow, Lynn can make cake AND pie." I decided to add pie "things" to our wedding registry, and my girlfriends at work giggled at my desire to make pie. I made a deal with them that if they got me the pie supplies, I would make them a pie after the wedding.
Well they did. I got the pie plate, pie shield, pie chain, and apple peeler from some of my coworkers, so I had to hold up my end of the deal. Yes, it was almost 4 months after the wedding, but fall seemed like the best time to make a pie!
I first did some extensive crust research. That might sound silly, but as it turns out, the "perfect pie crust" is pretty sought after in the baking world. I found some key pointers and went to town. Unfortunately, I decided to blog this adventure after the pie crust was already made, but maybe that's a good thing so my secret stays safe with me!
After preparing my crust and freezing it for a couple days, it was time to choose the kind of pie I was going to make. I ended up choosing (with the help of my girlfriends at work) a pumpkin apple pie with a streusel topping, found three different recipes, made my own adaptations, and got to work.
This picture is to showcase the wonderful birthday present I got from Matt-- my label maker! I was so excited to label things that I went for my baking supplies first.
I let my frozen crust thaw, rolled it out, placed it ever-so-nicely in my pie plate, and secured everything with my pie chain. Actually, back up a bit. The first attempt at putting the crust in the plate was a disaster. I almost lost hope, but decided to ball it up again and start over. Attempt #2 was much better than attempt #1. In hindsight, I wish I had taken a picture of attempt #1. It was not funny at the time, but funny now that I know how to do it right! Anyway, a pie chain helps to hold the crust down while it "blind bakes" so that it doesn't get air bubbles and puff up. Blind baking just means that the pie crust gets baked a little bit before the filling goes in. This pre-baking insures the bottom of the pie isn't soggy.
I then peeled my apples and prepared them with some spices, butter, and sugar.
Then it was on to the pumpkin filling, which I was happy to adapt to be more than just what comes out of the can. This had some extra spices, evaporated milk, and eggs to make it more like a pumpkin custard.
Then, it was on to the streusel topping. Let me just say-- this was so delicious. I never knew how simple streusel topping was to make, and I'm so glad that I tried it! I will be using the recipe I found for future pies, definitely.
Then it was time to start assembling the pie. The apples went in first, and the pumpkin custard was poured over top of them. What I liked about the pumpkin custard was that it was pretty runny, so it was able to work its way into the spaces between the apples. I attached my pie shield (which prevents the crust from browning too much while baking), baked the pie for a little bit until the custard set up, and then put the streusel topping on. Since the pumpkin layer was so watery, the topping would have gotten too soggy had I put it on right away.
After an hour, I was pleasantly surprised at my finished product! I will definitely say, my crust baking skills need some work, but that's ok. I was happy with my first try, and the fact that it wasn't a complete disaster was a plus for me!
And of course, when I was done and cleaning up, I realized I will never get my pie chain back in the box it came in again. Ever. It will have to stay in a baggie for eternity! Haha.
The next day was the final step in my pie adventure. It was time to use my favorite taste-testers and get their feedback. These girls love when I say "I'm going to bring in such-and-such," because it usually means they get treats that last a couple days at work!
This is what one of the slices ended up looking like. I was so happy that it looked so picture perfect!
This picture is after we had eaten half of the pie already. I thought it was a really cool picture, and you can see how the pumpkin made its way through the entire apple filling.
As you can see, my taste-testers enjoyed themselves, and they all gave their honest feedback with regard to the crust and the filling. Thankfully, it was all positive, and I don't need to change too much to make my crust perfect!
All in all, I am calling my pie adventure a success. I will say, pies are not easy by any means. They are time consuming and involve a lot of careful steps, but it is so worth it to see the end product. I am hopeful that our kids all agree that when Matt and I combine our strengths, we make one killer dinner and dessert combo!
