Mmmm…pie

I decided a few weeks ago that I want to become an excellent pie maker, so I am making one pie a week. One requirements that I have is that they have to all be made from scratch. No pudding mixes allowed. Also, the crusts have to be made with butter, not shortening.

The first week, I made vanilla meringue. The filling was really good and custardy and the meringue was good. The pie crust was not so good. I accidentally only used half of the amount of butter called for. No wonder it didn’t stick together well and was too chewy. I also wasn’t able to roll it thin enough and big enough to make a pretty crust around the top.

Week two was pecan. It was perfect. Really. Perfect. I finally got the right about of butter in the crust using this recipe and it was beautiful, tender and flaky. I used this recipe for the filling, which was made with sugar instead of corn syrup. I think that made it not so syrupy sweet. Did I mention that this pie was perfect?

Week three, today, was coconut cream, and one of my all-time favorite pies. I used the same crust recipe as before, but had a little trouble with it this time. The crust for the pecan pie was baked with the filling, but for a cream pie, you have to bake the pie crust first. It turned out kind of puffy and it shrunk a little. I later found out that you can prevent this by putting the crust in the pan and then putting another pie tin right on top. Fill that one with dried beans to weigh it down. This should keep it from puffing up. I also think I could’ve baked it just a wee bit longer. The coconut filling was based loosely on this recipe. I substituted 1/4 cup cornstarch for the flour, added 1 tsp. coconut extract, only toasted the coconut that went on top, and definitely used real whipping cream instead of cool whip.

One last thing: I like taking pictures of food.