Category: pie

there are only a few absolute rules of food. for example, everything will always taste better with bacon. another rule is never turn down pie. take this to heart and your life will improve dramatically. but what if you already love pie but it’s just not extreme enough for you? default to another absolute of food, namely that everything can be deep fried.

deep fried pies are basically fruit empanadas. the filling is cooked ahead of time and then wrapped inside a simple pastry dough. apple pie is my all time favorite, and the filling is so good that it’s hard to not just dump it all on a big bowl of vanilla ice cream…or forget the ice cream and just walk around the house eating the filling with a spoon. to be totally honest, i went the easy route with the dough when i made these, using pillsbury biscuits that i rolled out into rounds. i have provided a recipe for a great dough below though in case you want to use it.

now while i’m over my initial fear of deep frying (everything i can get my hands on), i can understand why this could be a little too extreme for some (wusses). whether it’s for health reasons or a phobia of hot oil burns, i won’t judge you too harshly if you want to bake the mini pies instead. either way, there won’t be any left at the end of the day.

i’m a little late for thanksgiving, but…pie!

gratuitous “pie that resembles pacman” below. so how was your thanksgiving?

this past friday was the fourth of july, which gave me a chance to unleash a recipe for one of my all time favorite things in the world – PIE. seriously, even my old AIM screen name had to do with my love of pie (i’m not giving it away, sorry). instead of a birthday cake, i would ask for a birthday pie. and what’s the best kind of pie? the answer is clearly apple (i’m not even going to recognize arguments to the contrary. and for independence day, what’s more american than apple pie? how about a no holds barred competition between two apple pies?

i’ve been intrigued by mock apple pie since i first read about it in jeffrey steingarten’s the man who ate everything. it’s an apple pie without any apples in it that promises to taste just like the real thing. i was doubtful, but the thought of a cheap and quick pie recipe was too much to pass up. this is a real celebration of conflicting american baking tactics: one pie is a carefully and lovingly crafted piece of americana, using fresh ingredients and a homemade crust. the other is a quick and easy answer (albeit a delicious one) to a hectic schedule that can satisfy in a pinch. but which pie will reign supreme?

we rose to the challenge with a blind taste test. could we tell the difference between an apple pie with real fresh apples and one without? the girl and i both tried warmed forkfuls of both pies while blindfolded. the results? both of us INCORRECTLY named the ritz cracker pie as the real deal. needless to say, i was astonished, but also excited to find an apple pie i could whip up in half the time of an “authentic” one.

some comments on each pie: the mock apple pie was characterized as tasting a bit like the apple pie filling you can buy at the grocery store. it was also a bit too lemony. i would cut down on the amount in the recipe. the real apple pie was delicious but not as flavorful as we had hoped. i think my crust had some “integrity” issues, and as a result, a bunch of the gooey sugary syrup from the pie leaked out. i’m betting a lot of the flavor went with it, so next time i’ll be more careful. you can actually see in the pictures that the pie deflated a bit as it cooled.

you’ll also notice that although i made a fresh pie crust for the real apple pie, i did not document it in any way. this is because pie crust is a pain in the butt to tackle, and trying to take pictures of it at the same time does not make the job any easier. i will say that that the finished homemade crust was very flaky, buttery and savory. i would recommend making your own, but if disaster strikes, there’s no shame in using a frozen prepared dough.