I love making pie. It hasn’t always been that way. I didn’t grow up with a mom that made pie from scratch. Yes, she bought a pie crust. Yes, she bought pie filling in can…but she didn’t make pie filling from scratch. How to make it was a big mystery to me. I spent years thinking it was too hard to learn and years thinking there was some mystery to it.
I finally decided to just try…and then I spent years perfecting it.
Anytime I went to the thrift store or a kitchen gadget store I bought stuff wanting to perfect my pies. What I learned is that pie making is more practice than anything else.
Years ago I stumbled onto this newspaper clipping from The Iowa Farmer today. It says it’s for rhubarb pie…but you can sub in any type of fruit. It will be good no matter what you put in it.
I often mix ingredients so it will be half strawberries and half blueberries. Any fruits you want…including apples work in this.
I told you that Kalissa and I went to the Amish and bought a case of peaches…so you guessed it. I was making peach pie.
I am making two pies. I think I’m keeping one here and gifting the other. So what you see below is the filling for two pies.
Next up…it’s time to make the crust.
I use a recipe from this old book. It was published long before Youtube and the internet.
I bought it at the thrift store long ago. You can see by the mess on the page that it’s my go-to.
The book has step-by-step instructions and that was so valuable to me. I’d not been around to see anyone make a pie so I didn’t know how to do it. These instructions were just what I needed and that is why this became my go-to recipe.
Pie-making can be a little messy but not bad.
Here are my pies ready for tops. I have never dived into making lattice tops. I probably should try that sometime.
I’m typically a double crust girl. I think much of that is from having to feed so many. Who had time to dabble in something artistic like a lattice top when they were all going to just gulp it down anyway?
Here are my pies ready for the oven. I don’t know what it is about making pie but it always makes me feel so accomplished.
I think I romanticize pie making…
I was a busy baker…two pies AND a zucchini peach cake. The cake recipe can be found HERE. It is a family favorite. We all love it. The original recipe calls for blueberries but I sub in any kind of fruit. Our favorites are raspberries and peaches.
I need to invert and frost the cake…
I like to “paint” milk on the crusts and sprinkle sugar over the top. SO GOOD!!
I decided to time myself when I made the pies and the cake. Prep time for it all was only 30 minutes…and most of that time was cutting up the fresh peaches.
Why oh why don’t I make pie more often. I really should. Honestly, what I really should do is learn to make some fancier pies. I’ve never ventured into cream pie making…oh, I should do that!! I guess next time I sit down to cross stitch, I’m going to watch some pie-making videos.
I can’t wait for them to cool off. We are going to be eating some pie!!
mmmm. Looks delish! I found a jar of peanut butter in the pantry that was about to expire so started baking with it, and made peanut butter bars with peanut butter frosting. But now I seem to want…pie!
Your pies look so yummy! I have that same cookbook, it’s really good. A good filling combination is blueberries and peaches. We used to pick nice big blueberries and my mother usually mixed with peaches, although not in a pie, just as a sauce, but I have put in pie. Fancy pies don’t taste any better than the ones you make and they take more time to make.
Yummy. I love peach pie and peach cobbler. My dear Granny (in heaven since 1978) used to make the best chocolate cream pie (homemade chocolate pudding) with mounds of whipped cream. She also made lemon meringue. And of course, every type of fruit pie there was. You brought back some good memories for me.
I didn’t like rolling two pie crusts for apple pie so I started making a double dutch pie. It had a brown sugar crumble on top. Yummy also.
I’m am going to have to try your zucchini cake. I have a small bundt pan that would be great to use.
the fresh peaches remind me of a recipe for peach reach that one of the patients brought to the office at the end of the day one summer. fresh peaches cut up and filled up 2/3 of a blender jar. add frozen lemonade concentrate, ice, and the container from the lemonade with vodka. The reason for the recipe’s name is that on a hot summer day after one glass of it one REACHES for another one.
Not anything re quilting for sure.
When I was young, we had lots of pie, even for breakfast. My mom would make a big batch of pie crust with the kitchen aid mixer, using a pound of lard. She would then roll balls that would make a single crust and freeze them. Didn’t take long to make a pie from the frozen crusts. Most were apple or blueberry.
Your lies look wonderful! Try a lattice top. It looks a lot more complicated than it is. A nice trick to have up your sleeve when you want a little something extra pretty.
Your pies look beautiful. When our boys were young, I didn’t bake pies because they were gone too quickly. Now I enjoy baking them. I use my food processor for mixing the crust ingredients and always add a splash of vodka. I think it makes it flakier, who knows!
My mom made pies all the time by scratch. If she had too much milk remaining that week she would go make a coconut cream pie. I will never forget all her baking. I should have paid more attention so I could be that good.
If you have the good recipes it’s like Jo says practice.
I started baking pies early – even took pie-baking in 4-H. My mother’s favorite was lemon meringue and she did the old Tom Sawyer thing, telling me that mine was better than hers so I should bake it… which I did. It’s a family favorite to this day and my hubby and son wait nearby to taste test as I add lemon juice – they like it lemony.
Yours look delicious – and now I’m in the mood to bake a peach pie! Thanks for sharing your fruit pie recipe – it sounds excellent.
Hi Jo, your pies are gorgeous…..no fussy designs needed, that’s the beauty of a pie!!! Pies are my favorite dessert to make, especially with fresh fruit! You are such an amazing cook….cream pie will be a breeze for you! And they are wayyyyyyyy better than anything you find in a store. Coconut Cream is my favorite – the recipe I use is from the 1965 red plaid Better Homes & Gardens cookbook my mom rec’d as a wedding gift….my copy from a yard sale is kinda beat up like your BH&G book. When you are ready to give a cream pie a whirl, look no further than BH&G!
I have that same cookbook and make both banana cream pie and coconut cream pie. I also use their recipe for lemon meringue pie. Our families favourite fruit pie is apple-blackberry which is a delicious combination. Jo your pie looks very good. Makes me want to make a peach pie myself.
My grandmother taught me to make pies including the crust with a recipe like yours. For years I was afraid to make them, but finally decided I was being silly. I roll the crust between sheets of wax paper so clean up is easy. Your pies are beautiful snd I bet they were delicious.
Look delicious!!! Pies and the cake!
Have lots of memories–of my mom–she made beautiful pies–cream pies and meringue–that were perfect-from scratch–and all baked in wood cookstove–no matter the temperature outside.
I HATE baking pies!!! I did manage to make your Sour Cream Blueberry Pie this spring for my son–he loves Blueberries–and he loved that pie!! Came out perfectly, and the crust was great. The crust has always been the “problem” –actually. Good luck when you try the soft/cream pies!!
Your pies are gorgeous! They are my favorite dessert to make and eat! A fun thing to do sometimes is grate the dough for the top crust right over the fruit. It’s easy and looks a little different.
You’re right, the secret ingredient to making good pie is practice. We’re a household of two, so pie s are few except at the holidays. An easy way to doll up a pie is to use a small cookie cutter to cut the top crust dough, and scatter the cutouts across the top. Stars are great for the 4th of July, etc. Plain pie is just as tasty though.
Hi Jo, how far are you from the American Gothic house? The current owner, Beth Howard makes and sells pies from her home. You must know that. I have her book. I bought it because I love to make pie. ( and cross stitch and quilt). You’d love her book. I’m sure you could find it easily. It’s her story about her pie making. I can’t wait to get my peaches!! Your pies are lovely
Mary…I went immediately to Amazon and bought the book. THANKS for the recommendation. I had not heard of her or her pie history!
Hi, jo I didn’t even know you could buy pie crusts till I was in my mid 20’s. Mom made pies, cobblers and everything else from scratch. By the time I was old enough to want to she never used the cook book it was all in her memory. So I learned to make pie in my early teens. It’s fun and easy as you’ve found out. Enjoy the practicing and the results.
My favorite pie to make is lemon chess pie. My aunt had a recipe for a peach pie – the filling was made with jello and cornstarch and fresh fruit.
Thank you for this post. Your pies look wonderful, professional even. I’m glad you included a photo of the recipe and the instructions (steps 1-7). I will have to give it a try, I have a heap of frozen cherries that need doing something with them, this would be just the trick. There’s also instructions for the lattice top as well. I’ve done lattice tops but the lazy way, not the basket weave effect. Enjoy your pies, wow you are so clever. God bless you
My mother could make pie crusts in a flash, but she hated the standing and stirring to make fillings. Her solution was to have me make the fillings because I had patience. So, pies were a team project, and we made lots of them. After my mother passed away, I haven’t made many, because a good crust seems to elude me. Maybe I just need more practice.
You convinced me! I need a lime chiffon pie for tomorrow and had baked a frozen crust but don’t like the way it turned out. So I baked a shell… probably the first time in 40 or so years! And it looks much better than the baked frozen crust! Thanks for your encouragement,
Hi, Jo! My daughter, myself, and 3 grandchildren returned from the ND State Fair. My grandson had won a 4-H blue ribbon for his apple pie at the county fair and at the state fair he got a red ribbon. Those were only his second and third pies he has ever made in his young 9 years. He loved slicing the apples. He said rolling out the crust was the hardest. In your photos I noticed you were rolling out the crust on a round thing. What was that? We use a piece of wax paper and it is so hard to judge the size of the circle for the crust. Your fluting looks beautiful.
I noticed that to. It looks like a pizza pan. I’m wondering if she used that as something to measure the crust size? Yes, her fluting is beautiful! Mine always look like a train wreck.
Martha, it’s a silicone mat. It’s from Pampered Chef. I just ordered a new one a bit ago but it hasn’t arrived. The one I have is small. I ended up buying this one. https://amzn.to/3b1Zujz
Your pies and bundt cake look delicious, Jo! Now I want to go and bake a pie!
Pies are something I’ve never been good at. I should probably give it another try, as yours looks yummy!
Love and prayers
I’ve used that same pie crust recipe since I started making pies as a kid. People love my pie crust, but it’s just flour, Crisco, and water. I think the secret to pie crust is to not over mix it and over handle it. My mom always used lard in her crust, but mine were a mess with lard. Using Crisco, they turned out great.
Oh my, once you make a home made chocolate pie, you will just flip! I’ve made a lot of pies and most of the double crust ones were lattice tops. I use a pizza cutter and just start laying the strips on, one here, then there. No big deal about being perfect. Your pies look great and I also use tapioca in most of my fruit pies.
Pie, my favorite dessert! or snack or meal~
No one has commented on the recipe saying the pie served SEVEN. How do you cut a pie into seven pieces? I seem to remember you had some pie pans that were 6 sided? Or were they seven sided? I’ve watched thrift stores but never seen any. We were a lemon chess pie family. Mom could have one ready for the oven in a flash. And pretty cheap when she used “oleo”. Thanks for the memories.
Thanks for bringing back memories of my mom making pies. She had a roller to cut scalloped strips of dough for the lattice. I can picture her weaving those strips for lattice on cherry pie. She made that for George Washington’s Birthday each February. She also used the small bit leftover to make a little pie for me, of butter and brown sugar. Yum – I can taste it now!
Your pies look absolutely perfect. I learned to make pies early, too. My dad was the pie maker and certain pies had certain tops. Lattice always went on the Rhubarb Custard. Don’t let it intimidate you. It’s really not that hard. I just had my first homemade coconut cream pie last night and O-M-Gosh! Beyond amazing! I now HAVE to make and master one for myself. I am always on the lookout for zucchini recipes. Thanks for sharing!
I had to come back to the post and say that I bought that BH&G cook book after seeing this post. It just arrived yesterday and I’ve glanced through it. I definitely want to try the pie crust recipe, but there are lots of other things in it that I can’t wait to try! I’m an ‘ok’ cook, but I’ve never mastered many basic home-cooking kinds of recipes (the kind my husband loves, lol). I showed him the book, and asked him to mark some things for me to try – thanks so much for showing this, I think you’ve made my husband very happy, :-)
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wow beautiful pies I am not a fan of pies even tho my mother made them a lot Dad of course loved them. she was a great cook & baker & my daughter & I both like to cook & enjoy German cooking. I don’t like pie crust & never learned to make it even tho I did try when I was married. I love apple (berry etc) crisp tho & make it a lot. Also lard & shortening are not allowed in my kitchen (not healthy) but do use coconut oil a lot & of course EVO. I do admire you so much & don’t know how you do all that you do. Love hearing about your family you are so blessed with a great family & so many friends.
Your pies look delicious. My pie crust recipe came from an old Crisco Cookbook over 50 years ago and is very similar to yours. Try the cream pies. They are really very simple. My family likes chocolate, coconut cream and butterscotch. They even like the cream pie without any editions.