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Make yourself a prize-winning pie

PRIZE-WINNING PIES — The Jefferson County Fair is the place to be when the baked goods are auctioned off from the domestic baking category in the 7th and 8th department. Both a cherry and peach pie went for $300 each, and a peanut butter pie went for $55. There also were apple and berry two-crust pies and custard and pecan. Prize-winning pies are not impossible to make — all it takes is a few directions and observe them until you know them by heart. -- Esther McCoy

The Jefferson County Fair produced some excellent pies. You know the buyers are aware of their goodness when a bid of $300 is made for both a lattice cherry and two-crust peach pie. A one-crust peanut butter pie covered with whipped cream and grated chocolate didn’t do badly either at $55.

I can’t give you those recipes, because the pie baker is not announced. The only way you know the baker’s name is to buy the merchandise.

Any old-time pie baker will tell you that it’s important to use ice water to add to the flour, salt and shortening. And those bakers always used lard until it became almost impossible to buy.

Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook advises to measure accurately, noting that too much flour or water will make a crust tough, while too much shortening will make it crumbly. Just like the great bakers of yore, the cookbook suggests using a stockinette for the rolling pin. I have never done this, but, of course, some mean words have come from my kitchen when the pastry broke into pieces or stuck to the cutting board. Lightly flouring the board and the rolling pin helps loads.

Don’t you just hate to see a dark brown edge on the pie when the rest looks a golden brown? You can stop this with a 12-inch square of foil folded into quarters. Cut a 7-inch circle from the center. Unfold the foil and loosely mold it over the edge of the pie.

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Now for the crust recipe. There are types using an egg, milk, vinegar and sugar mixture, but the Kitchen Keepsakes Cookbook decreed this to make the flakiest pie crust you have laid your tongue upon. This makes a 9-inch crust. If you want a double crust, double the recipe, roll out one crust and put in a pie pan and freeze it for later. Then you will only have to clean up the mess once.

Flaky Pie Crust

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2  cup shortening

About 3 to 4 tablespoons of ice water

Mix salt and flour with one hand. Add shortening and break up shortening into flour until pieces are pea size. Sprinkle cold water over mixture and toss around with hand. Add enough water until dough holds together when gathered as if making a snowball. Avoid working the dough too much. To make dough in a food processor, combine flour, salt and shortening in a processor. Blend until mealy. Add ice water, one tablespoon at a time with machine running, until dough makes a ball. Flatten dough on floured surface and roll about an inch larger than pan. Put in pan and trim edges. Bake pie shell at 450 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Be sure to use a fork to make holes in the bottom and sides of the crust so it will not bubble up.

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Another part of pie baking that frustrates newer bakers is making meringue. It weeps, soaks the pie crust and shrinks. One or all of the complaints are heard from those undertaking that fluffy, golden brown meringue. Here is a recipe for it. I’m told the secret is using cream of tartar and beating the egg whites until they stand in soft peaks and then using your thumb and index finger to rub some of the sugar and beaten egg white together to see if it’s smooth or still gritty from the sugar. This, too, is from Kitchen Keepsakes.

Meringue

3 egg whites, warmed to room temperature

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Continue beating, gradually adding sugar, a tablespoon at a time. Beat until stiff peaks form and stand up tall. You cannot overbeat, according to the recipe. Spread onto hot or warm pie, not cold. Seal meringue to edge of crust. Bake 10 minutes at 375 degrees or until golden brown.

Note: It has a footnote explaining that a half teaspoon of baking powder added to the room-temperature egg whites before beating seems to swell the meringue and make it higher.

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For that cherry pie that took all that “dough” at the auction, you might try this recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. This isn’t made with canned filling.

Cherry Pie

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch or quick-cooking tapioca

5 1/2 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened pitted tart red cherries

1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring

Recipe for double-crust pie dough

In a large bowl, stir together sugar and cornstarch. Add cherries and almond flavoring, gently tossing until coated. Let mixture stand about 15 minutes or until a syrup forms, stirring occasionally.

If using frozen cherries, let mixture stand 45 minutes or until fruit is partially thawed but still icy. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out the bottom crust and line a 9-inch pie plate with a pastry circle. Stir cherry mixture; transfer to pastry-lined pie plate. Trim bottom pastry to edge of pie plate. Roll out the other crust and cut slits to let out steam. Place on top of cherry filling and crimp edge in any designed method to seal the crust. If desired, brush top of pastry with milk and sprinkle with additional sugar.

Place pie on a baking sheet. To prevent over browning, use the foil method described at the beginning. Bake for 30 minutes or 50 minutes for partially thawed frozen fruit. Remove foil and bake for another 25 to 30 minutes until filling is bubbly and pastry is golden.

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Fall is coming sooner than we would like, and pumpkin pie is a favorite for this time. Actually pecan pie is a winner, too, so think how great it would be to combine the two. Here it is from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.

Pecan-Topped Pumpkin Pie

1 recipe deep dish pastry

1 1/4 cups coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

15-ounce can pumpkin, about 1 3/4 cups

1 1/2 cups half and half or light cream

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 eggs slightly beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoon butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare the pie pastry, which will take a bit more dough than the regular 9-inch pie pan. Line pan and trim dough to the edge of the plate and crimp.

In a small bowl, combine pecans and brown sugar. Spread 3/4 cup pecan mixture in bottom of pastry-lined pie plate, reserving remaining pecan mixture. For filling, combine pumpkin, half and half, granulated sugar, eggs, pumpkin spices and salt. Mix well.

Place pastry-lined pie plate on the oven rack and carefully pour filling over the pecan mixture in pastry shell. Bake about 50 minutes or just until set in center. Stir melted butter into remaining pecan mixture. Sprinkle pecan mixture over pie filling. Bake for 10 minutes more or until topping is bubbly around edges. Cool on wire rack. Cover and chill about two hours before serving.

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This isn’t Dawna Kale’s peanut butter pie but if you like peanut butter and chocolate, you might like this one. It has an easier crust to contend with. It consists of 1/2 cup butter, melted  and 1 1/2 cups finely crushed chocolate wafers, about 25. Toss together and spread in a 9-inch pie plate. Press evenly onto bottom and sides. Chill about one hour and then add filling.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pie

Chocolate wafer crust

8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup peanut butter

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate pieces

Prepare chocolate wafer crust and set aside. Chill a medium mixing bowl and beater. For filling, in a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and peanut butter until smooth. Add the 1 cup  powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. Beat until combined. In the chilled mixing bowl, beat whipping cream and 2 tablespoons powdered sugar with the  chilled beaters of an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gently fold about one-third of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture. Then fold remaining whipped cream and miniature chocolate pieces into the peanut butter mixture. Sprinkle with coarsely chopped peanuts, if desired. Chill about two hours before serving.

(McCoy can be contacted at emccoy@heraldstaronline.com.)

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