It's Pie Baking Contest Time
By tlpoague
Time for Pie! Family Fun
I come from a large family that tries to get together once every five years. The year before the big event, we collect our brains together to figure out fun activities for everyone involved. There is usually singing, card games, magic show, and yes...even a pie baking contest. Everyone young and old joins in the fun.
What makes the pie baking contest so attractive, one may ask?
The talent it takes and assortment of flavors. (Of course don't forget to puffs of flour clouds!)
Many people don't realize that there is a fine finesse that goes with making the perfect, flaky crust pie. It isn't just the ingredients that goes into it, it is also the loving touch. Too much, the dough comes out tough. Too little, and it wont stick together.
For our contest, we broke out my grandmother's basic pie crust recipe. Then we broke up into clusters to determine whom would make what kind of pie. The judges consisted of those that would rather eat the pie than make them.
We are ready!
Pie Crust
Basic Pie Dough (2 Crust Pie)
2 cups flour
1 cup lard
1/2 teaspoon salt
Ice water (about 7-8 tablespoons)
Cut together flour, lard, and salt until it is crumbly, no bigger than a pea. Now here was where the talented touch comes in. Add a tablespoon of water at a time until dough sticks together, but don't over work it or it wont be flaky.
Cut the dough in half and gently roll out one ball to a half inch thick circle. Carefully fold the pie crust in half and place it in the pie plate, making sure the edges of the dough cover the edges of the plate. (You want enough dough hanging of to pinch top and bottom crusts together.) Now fill with favorite pie filling.
Pumpkin Pie Filling (9 inch one crust pie)
2 eggs
¾ cups sugar
1 (16oz) can pumpkin
1 (12oz) can evaporated milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ginger
¼ cloves
Beat eggs with electric hand mixer. Beat in remaining ingredients. Pour in filling. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat, bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
Pecan Pie Filling (9 inch one crust)
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 cup corn syrup
½ teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 cup pecan halves or broken pecans
Beat together sugar, butter, syrup, salt and eggs with electric hand mixer. Fold in pecans and pour into pie shell. Bake at 375 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until set.
When helping the children, be sure to pat their faces with plenty of flour. We want the other groups to know that they were a lot of help. (Sometimes I would even let the younger kids use their hands to mix the pie crust.) Lots of laughter will let you know that they are having loads of fun.
Cherry-Mulberry Pie (9 inch two crust pie)
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 (16 oz) can cherry pie filling
1-1 ½ cups mulberries
¼ teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons butter
Mix sugar, four, and mulberries. Stir in cherries. Fill pie crust. Sprinkle with almond extract. Dot with butter. Cover with strips of pie crust, trim off extra crust on edges, pinching sides together to seal. Cover edge with 2-3 inch strip of aluminum foil to keep crust from over browning. Bake at 425 degrees for 35-45 minutes, removing the aluminum the last 15 minutes of bake time.
Caution, seriously working here!
Vote for your favorite!
What is your favorite pie?
See results without votingJudgement Time!
Now that the pies have been perfected and baked. It is time to sit back and enjoy the handy work. Make sure to blind fold the judges before the taste test to deter from discrimination. Have each group select cheerleaders to support their pie.
Hold a slice of pie under each of the judge's sniffers. Allow them a small bite, waiting to vote for the best pie until all the flavors are tested. Remove the blind folds from the judges and have them write on a small piece of paper their favorite pie. Fold in half and place the paper in a hat. Elect a youngster to select a paper while another tallies the votes. Call out each pie until all the papers are gone from the hat. Tally the votes and call out the winner. (Award a price of some sorts to each of the contestants and the winner.)
With these tips, you will be ready for the next family bonding hour. It is sure to be a big hit.
Want to learn more about tlpoague?
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What is your favorite family activity?
Thanks Golfgal,
I use to love pie, but burned myself out over the years. Now I only make it for the holidays, or family reunions. I agree, ice water is a huge difference.
Baking pies is not my thing, but eating them is!
As a fillings creator I am a wizard but creating the crust I am a flop.
Thanks Pop
You would make a great judge then. :) I would rather bake bread and cookies than the pies. I love to bake, but am not near as talented as my brother making pies.
Thanks Dave,
Tips my grandmother gave me helped me alot when it came time to make them. Make sure the water is icy cold. Don't over work the dough. Make sure to use lard instead of shortening or other substitutes.
Maybe that is why most of my family is addicted to pie. They are too good to pass up. I have a brother that can make the crust just like Gram did. Mine aren't bad, but not as flaky as her's.
What a great collection of pie recipes. It's nice to see the whole gang is having fun baking them.
Thanks JP,
We have a great time when we get together. It is fun to see the different types of pies that everyone makes and the talent to go with them.
YUMMMMMMM!!!!!!! GREAT HUB! Voted-UP!
Thanks! I love days like these!
Lardy, lardy they sound delicious. I've heard the only antidote to lard is to add liberal amounts of butter and sugar to the finished crust before you cook the pie...either that or four and twenty blackbirds--I never could get that straight. =:)
Thanks Winsome! My aunt finishes off her pies with cream, sugar and a dash of cinnamon...I may have to try the four and twenty blackbirds...LOL! Thanks again for stopping by and commenting. :)
This sounds like a great time! I'll have to try it with all my girls:)
Thanks Real,
This was such a hit that last year for Thanksgiving, my son made his first pie on his own. He didn't do too bad. I bet your girls will love it. :)
Great pie crust recipes. I'll have to try your pie fillings too, they sound delicious.
Thanks Koffee,
I had a few more fillings to add besides the pumpkin, pecan, and cherry, but my recipes have eluded me at the moment. (I had been working on making a cookbook in memory of my grandmother, but life issues have prevented me from finishing it at the moment.) I need to dig around to find her recipes and brush up on my baking. Thanks again for commenting. :)
I didn't vote in your poll because I love all those flavors, and I couldn't decide! Your pie crust recipe is so close to my dad's recipe - makes great pastry!
Thanks RedElf,
That is ok. I love them all and don't have a favorite. Tonight we are going to try another one of my son's pumpkin pies he made. I was thinking about making an apple one earlier, but still haven't found Gram's recipes yet. Thanks again for stopping by. :)
What a fun idea! The pictures are great too. I have never eaten rhubarb, but it has lots of votes here as a favorite. I have heard that pies are the new cupcakes. On the popularity rise!
Thanks Sally,
I think pies are making a come back. When I was on a kick to feed my family healthier food, I cut back from the pies and started making different quick breads. Now, even in my family, the pies are making a come back as my children have grown and started making their own.
What a fun post! And thanks for mentioning my "Pie Contest in a Box."
Thank you Gina,
I am glad you liked it. I thought your Pie Contest in a Box was a great idea. Thanks for stopping by to comment.
I love apple pie. Great article. I love the way your aunt finishes off her pies. Thanks for a great read and recipes too!
Thanks Eventsyoudesign,
I love to bake and getting together with the family. It seems that these kinds of events are becoming a lost art. I am glad you liked it, thanks again for stopping by.
Thanks for a cool article. I love pie. My favorite is Cherry but peach is awfully good too. Bon appetit!
Thanks James,
My favorite was the pecan. I hate to admit it, but after years of eating pie, I would rather make one than eat one. These were some precious memories that my kids still enjoy and talk about. Thanks again for stopping by.
Golfgal 12 months ago
Yummy, i love pie!!! great recipe for pastry, the ice water makes a big difference.