Thanksgiving Memories and Cherry Berry Pie

Hello, friends. It's been a little while since I wrote to you; I found myself preoccupied with canning fresh applesauce from the apples I bought at the farms, baking ciabatta bread to dunk in my hearty soups, and making a lot of pie kits for you! But I'm here now and ready to show you my very favorite pie in the whole world - Cherry Berry Pie. I made for my family to enjoy after Thanksgiving dinner. Actually, I made two of them so my current family can enjoy one tomorrow and my future family can enjoy one on Friday. 

I will always and forever make Cherry Berry pie for Thanksgiving; not only is it my favorite, it's my youngest cousin's favorite and I just cannot deny that boy of his pie. He's not really a boy anymore... he's in high school now, but he loved this pie when he was little and used to fit in my lap and he still loves it today. 

My mom started making this pie more than a decade ago, and I was instantly hooked. I'm a sucker for raspberries, and this pie has them in spades. During the summer months, they are my breakfast of  choice, my snack of choice and my dessert of choice. I put them in my cereal, my yogurt and my salads. I make jam out of them and fill my pantry with the bright red jars. And then I fill my freezer with these delicious berries and make pies until summer rolls around again and I can pick them fresh from the bushes.

So how do you make Cherry Berry Pie? The secret is in the cherries, actually. If you buy cherry pie filling, you're asking for trouble... that stuff is janky. You must use either fresh tart red cherries or ones that are canned in water, and either fresh or frozen raspberries. Mix up your filling with sugar and cornstarch and pour it into your crust. Don't forget that I'll send you all the dry ingredients needed for your filling in one of my pie kits, and that takes the thinking out of it for you! 

The pie crust is the best part of this pie. Gorgeous pies like this one deserve to be flaunted and dressed up, and I think the best way to show it off is through a criss-cross crust. Try and go back to your fourth grade days and remember how your teachers taught you to weave baskets and yarn pouches. It's the same concept here. Cut strips of pie dough and do the over-under approach, and then finish it off by pressing the ends into the bottom crust. Sprinkle a little sugar on your criss-cross crust, and you're done! 

 

 I hope you find this pie to be as magical as I think it is. I find it to be best served with whip cream and a friend (preferably a fourteen year old cousin) who appreciates it like you do. 

If you'd like to order one of these pie kits, my email address is at the top of my blog. You can order apple, peach, french silk, and cherry berry pie kits from me for $15. Happy baking!

Pie in the Sky Bake Shop: What You Need to Know

This is a blog post that I should have written long ago. But when you’re blogging for fun, “shoulds” don’t happen as often as they… should. Would you like to know how my pie business works? I can tell you! Here is a list of frequently asked questions that I have answers to. If you have another question that I don’t answer here, send me an email.

What is a pie kit?

It’s an all inclusive box of goodies that contains everything you need to make a pie – two crusts, a jar of dry ingredients for the filling, a pie tin and a recipe. All you need to do is add the perishable ingredients to the jar of dry ingredients, roll out the crust, line the tin and bake. Each kit costs $15 (plus shipping and handling, if needed) and you can email me to place an order.

How do I order a pie kit?

Send an email to pieintheskybakeshop@gmail.com with your pie order and the date you need it to arrive. Please give me one week of notice. :) You can pay me via PayPal by searching for my email address.

What kinds of pie kits do you sell?

I currently have three kinds of pies that you can choose from – apple, peach and French silk. I hope to add a wider selection soon; is anyone besides me craving berry pie these days?

What do I need in order to bake one of your pies?

You will need the perishable ingredients listed on your recipe card, a rolling pin, a large flat surface for rolling out your pie crust, and either wax paper or a lot of flour to keep the crust from sticking to that surface. It’s also good to have some foil you can crunch around the edges of the pie if they’re browning too quickly in the oven.

Can you ship your pies?

I certainly can! I ship my pies via the US Postal Service’s Priority Mail, which has a 2-3 day delivery window. You are responsible for the cost of shipping, and the price will depend on your location.

What ingredients are in your pie crust?

Considering this is my family’s secret recipe, that’s a very personal question! But in case you’re allergic to something, I’ll tell you what’s included. Every crust contains flour, sugar, salt, butter, shortening, and vinegar.

What is in your dry ingredients?

It changes depending upon the pie, but you can generally expect to find sugar, salt, flour, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg. Chocolate pies will (of course) have cocoa power.

What if I want to customize a pie? For example, what if I want a crumble top instead of a double pie crust?

That’s completely fine! Just make sure you tell me what you want when you order so we can figure out how to make it happen. Crumble tops are absolutely delicious and I’m putting one on my pie this weekend. :)

Do I need to keep my pie crust refrigerated until I use it?

You should keep it in the freezer and then put it in the fridge a couple of days before you plan to bake your pie. Make sure that your dough is still a little cold when you roll it out to keep it from sticking too badly.

Any helpful tips for rolling out the pie dough?
Yes! First, make sure your pie dough is chilled when you roll it out. I like to roll my crust out on wax paper and then flip it upside down over my pie tin once it's rolled out. While you're rolling, be generous with flour - both on your rolling pin and on your pie crust; it will keep it from sticking. Use your rolling pin from the middle of the crust towards the edges to keep it at a consistent thickness. To make your crust shiny, beat an egg and brush it onto the top crust before you bake.

Most importantly - don't be afraid of ugly pie crust. You're baking for fun and it will taste exactly the same whether you have to piece the crust together or not!

What do your pie kits look like?

They’re cute! The pictures below show the packaging as well as how the contents look inside the box.

Lessons from Waitress - One Pie at a Time

Sometimes life is hurtful and doesn’t make sense. Sometimes it takes something you thought was beautiful and crumples it before your eyes. Sometimes it takes everything you knew to be true and turns it upside down so you’re left feeling lost and alone in someplace unfamiliar. And when that happens, as it inevitably does to each of us, there’s no word, no prayer, no hug that can entirely take away the ache and the sting of what has been inflicted.

There’s a movie called Waitress that was released about five years ago starring Keri Russell. The character she plays, Jenna, lives unhappily in a loveless marriage and winds up pregnant with a baby she does not want. She spends her days working in a diner making pies. And it’s through her pies that she processes her anger, her sadness and her fear of being trapped - all with the undeniable sparkle of a woman who has fought for something her whole life and who won’t stop now. When she finds herself at a dead end, she makes a pie and pours her uncertainty into the flakey crust and the decadent filling. As the movie progresses it becomes a sort of love story between Jenna and the baby living inside of her, and it’s her pies and her letters that allow her to express those feelings.

That idea has always resonated with me. There are so many times that I’ve felt lost, and in those moments I often find that the best way I can express my heart is through a pie. Through cutting the butter into the flour to make the crust. Through using the muscles in my arms to roll that crust into a sheet that lines my pie tin. Through mixing up a bowl of fruit with sugar, cinnamon and other spices into a fragrant melody that will bake into a warm, gooey filling. In those moments I accept that I can’t fix everything in my life, and instead give myself permission to channel my uncertainties into a pie that will bring a comforting and delicious moment to me and those that I love.

I’ve never been able to use recipes to make my pies; as silly as it sounds, my hands do the work and my instincts know when my pie is ready to bake. I think that life is the same way. Sometimes there isn't a road map that leads to where we need to go. All we can do is stare with wide eyes at the unfamiliar landscape around us, take a breath, and trust ourselves to take a step in a new direction.

French silk pie makes for a very happy family!

This week was very likely the last bit of warm fall weather that we'll have in Portland this year. The rain will come tomorrow, and it probably won't leave until July. Lots of people complain about the weather here, but I love it. It's a good excuse to cozy up in coffee shops while I drink tea and read a book. But all that to say, we had seventy degree days last weekend and I used them as an excuse to make a French Silk Pie for my family get together.

French silk pie kit

This recipe is one that I created after much trial and error, and it's definitely a family favorite! Good news for me, because it's easy as a wink to make. And good news for you because if you order a pie kit from me, the pie crust, pie tin and dry ingredients for the filling only cost $15!

First, I rolled out my pie dough for the bottom crust as normal, but then put it into the oven to bake. I made sure it was nice and crispy because I wanted that textural contrast with the creamy filling.
 
Once the pie crust was in the oven, I started mixing my chocolate pudding filling on top of the stove. Once it had thickened up, I put it in a big bowl and whisked it until smooth.

Once the crust was finished baking and I had poured in the filling, I pressed some cling wrap onto the top of the pie. This is a super important step if you want to avoid that nasty "skin" that can form on the top of the filling.

You know the best part of this pie? Sometimes all of the pudding doesn't fit into the pie crust. And since making pies is awfully hard work, sometimes you need a snack to regain your strength.

After I'd finished my snack and once the pie cooled down, I served it up with whip cream to a very eager and happy family. This pie is so smooth and the crust is so crispy... I promise you'll never, ever want to touch instant pudding again. Order your french silk pie kit from me today and I promise you'll agree with me!

When Disneyland is too far... try a new pie crust!

If you could be anywhere in the world right this second, where would you be? My answer to that question has always been Disneyland. I have grown up with a ferocious love of Disneyland that was instilled in me as a tiny tot by my mother. In fact, one of my very first memories is of my dad holding me when I was three years old by the carousel near the Peter Pan ride in Fantasyland. Because Disneyland is about 14 hours by car from Portland, this weekend I found myself in my kitchen making pie. But just like Disneyland, making pie is completely magical, so I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

I tried my hand at a new sort of pie crust this time. Still my mom's secret recipe, but this time I used a couple of cookie cutter leaf shapes to cut out the top of my pie crust. Here's a handy how-to guide so that you can do the same!

First things first. You're going to need an apron because making pies is a messy proposition with lots of flour involved. This is one that I made during a crafty phase a few months ago, and I love it.

After you have your apron, roll out the pie dough for the bottom of your tin as normal. Add in the fruit and set it off to the side. Next, roll out the dough for the top of the pie and use your cookie cutter to cut out enough shapes to cover the top of the fruit.

I chose to use fall leaves since I'm smack dab in the middle of my yearly fall obsession. If this was a strawberry rhubarb pie for the fourth of July, I would use stars. Or if it was for Christmas, I would use Christmas trees. But today it's leaves. My boyfriend is the artistic one in our relationship, so he used a chopstick to make a few of the leaves look a bit more realistic to create contrast on the crust.

Once I had all the shapes cut out, I lined them on the top of the pie and then did an egg wash by beating an egg and brushing it over the crust. This will make the crust extra shiny after it's finished baking. To cap it all off, I sprinkled a little bit of sugar over the top before I put it in the oven to bake.

Forty five minutes later, and here's the final product! It's a fun, creative and easy way to give your pie a little extra seasonal flare. And don't forget that you can order a pie kit from me that comes with everything you need to create your own masterpiece. Check out the About Me section of my blog and send me an email. Happy baking!

Apple Pie for Fall Evenings

It's hard to beat September in Portland. The leaves are changing, the sun is (usually) shining and sunflowers abound in the farmers markets. But my very favorite part of September is making a fresh apple pie to enjoy with a mug of chai tea on a quiet Sunday evening. There's nothing like Sunday Night Football, crispy pie crust with tart apples, and snuggling up in a blanket to perfectly cap off a relaxing weekend.

I made an apple pie last Sunday and officially welcomed fall to my apartment. Next up? Dig out my slippers from the back of the closet, throw an extra blanket on my bed and find my much-loved copy of Anne of Green Gables which I always seem to find myself reading this time of the year. Fall is here! It's time for boots, scarves, soup served with crusty bread, crisp mornings and apple cider. And apple pie, of course.

If you want to try your hand at baking a made-from-scratch apple pie, but feel daunted at the idea of making your own crust... don't worry. I'm here to help! You can order one of my pie kits that includes a pie tin, a homemade crust and the dry ingredients you add to your apples for the filling. It's a cinch to make and you'll instantly have more friends. Being a pie maker does that, you know.

To order one of my pie kits just email me! It'll be the most delicious $15 you spend this fall.