There was something in the air this morning. It didn’t feel cooler. Maybe it was a smell. Maybe the air was drier. But it was more of a feeling, a hope, a hope that fall would come soon. When you live in the deep south, you long for fall, winter, spring, anything but summer. It’s so hot that the heat coming off the pavement burns your legs. Most mornings you walk outside and the humidity takes your breath away. It’s exhausting. So I long for fall. I want to wear long sleeves. I want to garden and play outside, to take long walks with my boys. I get the most excited thrill when I smell burning leaves. I love that first morning that you open the door and it’s cooler outside than in. Oh, I’m getting excited just thinking about it. Most of all, I want to bake. Fall is my favorite time to bake.
Pies are a year-round thing. There are pies for every season. There will never not be a good time for pie. Summer? Raspberry Peach Pie, please! Spring? Lemon Meringue, of course. Summer? Strawberry Rhubarb, served warm, a-la-mode. Sweet Potato, Peach, Guava, Chocolate, Blueberry, Apple, Cherry, Raisin, Pecan, Buttermilk. My, oh my, there is always time for pie. But autumn pies are my favorite. Pumpkin Pie has a special place in my heart. Apple Pie is my favorite Pie. Have you ever had Apple and Pumpkin together? Oh…my…yum! It is a delicious combination. So years ago I came up with a Harvest Pie. It is a Thanksgiving favorite in my family. You can take the time to lattice the top and decorate with pie dough. If you’re running short on time just place one piece of pie crust on top, crimp the edges and cut a few vents. I hope you will try this pie. If you do, I know you’ll love it, too!
You’ll need a deep pie dish, something heavy. I have tried many pie dishes and my favorites are the stoneware pie plate from Pampered Chef and the perfect classic pie plate from Emile Henry. I’m always on the hunt for Emile Henry pie plates. They come in many different colors for different seasons and in different shapes. I found this beautiful gold, heart shaped Emile Henry pie plate on the clearance shelf in a hardware store for $11.00. I spray it with Pam before putting in my bottom crust and the pie slices come out beautifully. Make sure to put your pie plate on a Silpat or parchment paper lined cookie sheet to protect your oven from drips.
I use different pie doughs depending on the pie. On a chicken pot pie, I like a fairly thick, flaky, savory crust. On a French Silk Pie, the crust should be flaky but thin enough that it almost shatters under the tines of your fork. The pie crust below is a good, all-around crust but is desirable here because it is easy to work with for intricate designs, lattice tops, and shaping. I do not make my dough in the food processor. I enjoy doing it by hand, it’s faster and seems like a lot less to clean up. If the pie dough gets too soft while you are working with it, put the dough back in the fridge for 20 minutes before continuing. It is better to patiently wait and get the results you desire. But what’s really important is that you take your time, enjoy the process, and have a successful baking experience so that you’ll want to enjoy baking again and again.
So many people do not enjoy baking because they don’t get organized. Read the recipe at least twice and assemble your ingredients and equipment before starting. Some people work with inferior equipment, making them feel clumsy or the process too labor intensive or time consuming. If you use inferior ingredients you won’t get the desired results and will feel as though you wasted your time, money, and energy. The biggest mistake I see people making to sabotage themselves in the kitchen is not trusting the recipe. They’ll say, “It looked too wet so I added another cup of flour. And I used fat free sour cream, fat free butter and sugar free this and low sodium that. I didn’t have so and so, so I put in some this-n-that. Well, it tasted awful. I don’t know what I did wrong.” Well, honey, bless your heart! The first time you make something, trust the recipe. Once you get to know it, you can improvise or try different flavors. But if you really like something enough to ask for the recipe, buy the ingredients, spend your time and energy making it…trust it. If you really want to give someone a compliment, ask them for their recipe, trust it, and bring them a serving to say, “Thank you.”
Harvest Pie
Double Pie Crust:
Assemble your ingredients and equipment.
In a heavy duty mixing bowl (Mason Cash) combine:
3 cups all-purpose flour (15 ounces, King Arthur)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar,
and stir with fork or whisk
Add:
7 tablespoons very cold lard or vegetable shortening cut into small cubes (yes, lard! Lard makes your crusts delicious, makes them extra flaky and they won’t shrink. Your grandmama was onto something.)
10 tablespoons very cold real butter (salted) cut into small cubes (Plugra)
and using a pastry cutter, cut the shortening or lard and butter in until the mixture resembles course meal. Work quickly before the butter softens too much.
Add:
10 tablespoons of ice water
and stir quickly with a fork and scraping down the sides of your bowl until mixture forms a ball. Divide the dough into 2 pieces, making one slightly larger than the other (approx. 16 and 14 ounces). If you’re going to lattice the top flatten the larger piece into a 5-inch square and the smaller into a disc. Otherwise, flatten both pieces into discs. Wrap separately in plastic wrap and chill at least one hour, or up to 2 days before rolling.
Bottom Layer - Pumpkin Filling:
1 can pumpkin
1/3 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon allspice
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 large egg, beaten
¼ cup half and half
Stir ingredients together and refrigerate until use.
Top Layer - Apple Filling:
6 cups peeled Granny Smith apples, diced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
½ cup sugar
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons tapioca
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Options: ¼ cup raisins and/or ¼ cup chopped pecans
Stir ingredients together in a large pan and set over medium heat. Do not overcook. Cook until juices are thickened but still slightly runny and apples are slightly tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
Assembly and Finishing:
Roll smaller piece of pie dough to 1/8 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Always roll from the center out, not back and forth across the entire surface to prevent shrinking. Roll onto your rolling pin, transfer to pie plate and set aside.
If you are going to use a solid piece of pastry dough for the top, add the pumpkin filling, carefully spoon the apple mixture on top. Dot with 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces. Roll remaining pastry to 1/8 inch thickness; transfer to top of pie. Trim off excess pastry along edges. Fold edges under, and crimp. Cut slits in top crust for steam to escape.
If you want to make a lattice top crust, roll out the larger piece of pastry to 1/8 inch thickness, making a large square. Using a sharp knife or pastry wheel, cut into strips of desired width. Some people like to make their lattice on their bench and then transfer but I do mine on the pie itself. Add the pumpkin filling to the pastry lined pie plate. Carefully spoon the apple mixture on top. Dot with 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces. Place half of the pastry strips, spaced evenly, on top of pie filling. Fold back the first, third, fifth and so on. Place a strip perpendicularly across bottom strips. Unfold the first, third and fifth and fold the second, fourth and sixth. Place another strip and unfold. Repeat until surface of pie filling is covered. (Another option is to make your lattice on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, freeze until firm and slide onto pie filling.) Trim the excess lattice ends, trimming bottom pastry as well. Fold edges under and crimp.
Brush pastry lightly with egg beaten with a little milk. Sprinkle with coarse sugar or 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon mixed into 2 teaspoons sugar.
Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake another 50 minutes. About half way through baking, turn pie half way around. Keep an eye on your pie! When the crust is the perfect golden color, loosely cover with tin foil. I do not use pie shields as they cause unattractive tan lines. I always bake my pies on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or Silpat to catch drips and to make for easy transferring and turning. Cool on a wire rack. Serve with plenty of freshly whipped cream.
Happy autumn, dear friends!