Thanksgiving Pies

Thanksgiving with the Hiatt family calls for plenty of dessert, and I got to be in charge of the pies! Six pies, to be exact. And they were a success...for the most part. Enjoy this eclectic page of delicious sweets!

Pie Crust

From thepioneerwoman.com, Sylvia's Perfect Pie Crust

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cup Crisco (vegetable Shortening)
• 3 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 whole Egg
• 5 Tablespoons Cold Water
• 1 Tablespoon White Vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Salt

In a large bowl, with a pastry cutter, gradually work the Crisco into the flour for about 3 or 4 minutes until it resembles a coarse meal. In a small bowl, beat an egg with a fork and then pour it into the flour/shortening mixture. Add 5 tablespoons of cold water, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir together gently until all of the ingredients are incorporated.

Separate the dough into thirds. ***Note: Separating it into thirds will result in three thin crusts. If you prefer a more substantial crust, separate it in half.*** Form 3 evenly sized balls of dough and place each dough into a large Ziploc bag. Using a rolling pin, slightly flatten each ball of dough (about ½ inch thick) to make rolling easier later. Seal the bags and place them in the freezer until you need them. (If you will be using it immediately it’s still a good idea to put in the freezer for about 15 to 20 minutes to chill.)

When you are ready to use the dough to make a crust, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw for 15 minutes. On a floured surface roll the dough, starting at the center and working your way out. (Sprinkle some flour over top of the dough if it’s a bit too moist.) If the dough is sticking to the countertop use a metal spatula and carefully scrape it up and flip it over and continue rolling until it’s about ½ inch larger in diameter than your pie pan.

With a spatula, lift the dough carefully from the surface of the counter into the pie pan. Gently press the dough against the corner of the pan. Go around the pie pan pinching and tucking the dough to make a clean edge.

This crust worked out the best for me. It makes three crusts, which is nice. You can freeze them in flattened discs in the freezer until needed as well. I used this for the pecan and the peach pie I believe. The other crust I used for the rhubarb and chocolate cream pie was not as good because I added more water than was asked and it came out too tough. I guess if I had a food processor like the recipe asked for, it may have worked out a lot better. Oh well. 

Pecan Pie

 Ingredients:

• 1 recipe Pastry for Single-Crust Pie 
• 3 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 cup  corn syrup
• 2/3 cup  sugar
• 1/3 cup  butter or margarine, melted
• 1 teaspoon  vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups  pecan halves or chopped macadamia nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare and roll out pastry for Single-Crust Pie. Line a 9-inch pie plate with the pastry. Trim; crimp edge as desired.

For filling, combine eggs, corn syrup, sugar, butter, and vanilla. Mix well. Stir in pecan halves.

Place the pastry-lined pie plate on the oven rack. Carefully pour the filling into the pastry shell.

To prevent overbrowning, cover edge of the pie with foil. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes more or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Cover and refrigerate within 2 hours.

Rhubarb Pie

 Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup  sugar
• 1/3 cup  all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon  ground cinnamon
• 6 cups  fresh or frozen unsweetened sliced rhubarb, thawed
• 1 unbaked pie shell

Crumb Topping

• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 c. flour
• 2 Tbsp. butter, diced

Preheat oven to 375 degree F. For filling, in a large bowl stir together sugar, flour, and cinnamon; stir in undrained rhubarb.
Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry; trim. Transfer filling to pastry. Trim bottom pastry to edge of plate. combine brown sugar and flour, and cut butter into it. spread crumb topping over top of filling. 
Cover edge of plate with foil. Bake for 25 minutes; remove foil. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes more or until filling is bubbly in center and crumb topping is golden. Cool on a wire rack.
i ACCIDENTALLY DRAINED THE RHUBARB BEFORE USING IT SO THE FILLING TURNED OUT TOO DRY :( hOWEVER, I HAVE DONE THIS RECIPE MULTIPLE TIMES BEFORE AND IT'S A GOOD ONE. KATY HELPED ME OUT WITH THIS PIE; THANKS KATE!

Peach Pie

I used a frozen peach pie filling that Mom made for this one. Ask Sulet for more details.

Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake

From Taste of Home, Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie Recipe

 Ingredients:

• 2 c. finely crushed pecan shortbread cookies
• 1 Tbsp. flour
• 3 Tbsp. butter, melted

Filling

• 11 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1 c. sugar
• 15 oz. can pumpkin
• 1 Tbsp. milk
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. each ground ginger, nutmeg, and cloves
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• Whipped cream, optional

In a small bowl, combine the cookie crumbs, flour and butter; press into an ungreased 9-in. deep-dish pie plate. Bake at 350° for 9-11 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

For filling, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the pumpkin, flour, milk and spices. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Pour into crust.

Bake at 350° for 40-50 minutes or until center is almost set. Cover edges with foil during the last 15 minutes to prevent overbrowning if necessary. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving. Serve with whipped cream if desired. Yield: 8 servings.

Conrad and Nolie helped put this one together. They made the crust all by themselves, (with my supervision)! Thanks kiddos!

Lydia's Chocolate Cream Pie

 Ingredients:

• 1 baked pastry crust
• 3.9 oz chocolate pudding mix
• 1/2-1 inch cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 c. butter, softened
• 1/2 c. evaporated milk
• 1 1/4 c. milk
• a 'touch' of mapleine
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 c. whipping cream
• Powdered sugar
• Vanilla

(I would start with beating the butter and cream cheese together first). Put pudding in a bowl. Add cream cheese and butter. Add the evaporated milk and regular milk to bowl. Add mapleine and vanilla. Mix with wire mixer for 2 minutes, then scrape every 30 seconds. Will turn from chocolate brown to gray brown. Pour filling into pie shell. Add sweetened whipped cream to top.

Banana Cream Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 graham cracker pie crust
• 4 egg yolks
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. cornstarch
• 2 1/2 c. milk
• 1 Tbsp butter or margarine
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 3 medium bananas
• Whipping cream for topping

In a medium saucepan combine sugar and cornstarch. Gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly; reduce heat. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Slightly beat egg yolks with a fork. Gradually stir about 1 cup of the hot filling into yolks. Add egg yolk mixture to saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil; reduce heat. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla. Line the graham cracker crust with sliced up bananas. Pour warm filling into crust. Chill for 3-6 hours before serving; cover for longer storage. Add whipped cream right before serving. (If doing meringue instead of whipped cream, bake for 30 minutes at 325 degrees).

This recipe can be used for coconut cream pie, vanilla cream pie, or whatever else you would like it to be.