The Trouble with Pie

Today, I decided was the day I would venture into pie making! After a crazy amount of suggestions on Facebook when I reached out to family and friends to ask what I should make next… Many said pie because I haven’t tackled any pastry dough yet!

Now, I am not a fan of fruit! You could almost say I have a fruit phobia! ORANGES = puke (legit puke… the smell of an orange makes me gag- I tell people I am allergic because it makes it easier then saying I don’t like how they smell ha-ha), apples = heck to the NO, Cherries = I think I might have tried them once, Saskatoon’s = never have had one, Banana’s = it’s the texture that does it for me. Another no!

HOWEVER, I do like raspberries, strawberries, and pears of all things. So I have decided a raspberry pie. I have actually never heard of a raspberry pie before so of coarse I went to trusty Pinterest and found a recipe by Shelly and her website Frugal Family Home. It seemed easy enough with few ingredients and a well-organized description of the recipe. It even had a video showing how Shelly makes her pie step by step.

The process:

Pie dough, it should be easy! Shelly’s recipe was only 4 ingredients: Flour, salt, shortening (I used laird), and water. I measured my ingredient’s I watched Shelly’s video then I tried! TO NO LUCK! My dough rolled out nicely but when I tried to pick it up to put it into my pie dish it broke apart!

So, I did want anyone would do and I called my Gramma! She asked what I used and what the problem was. She tried helping me trouble shoot! She also shared her pie dough recipe with me, which was completely different with eggs and vinegar! Then she said some words that had me worried, “sometimes when I decide to make pies, I wonder why I even got out of bed in the mornings.” I took her advice and tried adding an egg and water into my dough! To no avail.

I decided I would make the filling which was raspberries, cornstarch, sugar and I added a bit of vanilla and pumpkin pie spice! If all else fails I have store bought graham crust that it will taste good in. I think! If not this taste pretty delicious on its own, as I had to test test a few berries.

I was just about to take to Pinterest again when I remember I received a family cookbook from an old coworker. I went flipping through the book and found a “No Fail Pie Dough Recipe” – I laughed to myself and said “ya, we shall see.”

Dough attempt #2- This recipe called for flour, laird (good thing I bought 2 at the store), salt, and COLD 7-UP?!?!? What the?? I only have sprite so I sure hope it works! After I cut in the laird for the second time. It seems to be going better! I hope! I then added my cup of cold sprite and waited for the dough to chill for a half hour. YOU GUYS! It worked! I was able to roll my crust out without it sticking and I was able to make my pie. I have the Tupperware pizza cutter that has two different cutters so I could create a cool design for the top of the pie crust. (If you need any Tupperware, hit me up I have been a consultant for the last 5 years 😉 https://www.facebook.com/groups/shanastupperware )

I decided this week to take Laura’s advice and use Canva to create my learning project. CANVA is awesome Laura is right! I really enjoyed using the program to create a professional looking slideshow. I was able to use a “Making pasta template” and change it to making my pie. I signed up for the free 30 day trail which allowed me access to all images, fonts and more. I will definitely use Canva in the future especially as an educator to create lessons, posters, and teach my students what can all be done on the site. Here is my Canva presentation called “Baking with Shana Blenkin“

Reflection:

Ill be honest this has been one of the first times a struggled with my baking learning project and it had me frustrated. It is difficult to judge how textures should be if you have never attempted them before. My first crust felt and looked like playdough before I even added any liquid to it. I knew I was in trouble from the start! I am happy I didn’t give up on this learning project, I had a bought pie crust staring at me, but I attempted it for the second time and although it was far form perfect my crust turned out and I am proud of myself! I also am happy I tried a new digital tool (Canva) I loved the program and will be using it again. If it wasn’t for this class I don’t think I would have tried it!

here is a final picture of my pie, but please check out my Cavna presentation to see my journey! (not only of the pie, but also using Canva).

Stay Sweet,

Miss Blenkin

Baking Tip # (I cannot remember): When in doubt call your gramma or someone for advice. It was nice to just chat and listen to how she makes her pies.