You've outdone yourselves this year, readers! When we asked for submissions of fresh-baked pies, you delivered – 16 of them, to be exact!
This is the Insider's second pie bake-off, where we invite readers to submit their favorite pie to be sampled by a panel of judges. The pie bakers get a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to any business in Concord, and the rest of us get to clip out the delicious recipes for future baking exploits. It's a win-win, really.
In hindsight, we should have provided our judges – who were all Monitor employees – with a roll of Tums for their participation, but they soldiered on bravely through 16 slices of pie. We made them rank each pie from one to 16, one being the best, which meant the lowest scoring pie would be the winner.
That coveted prize goes to none other than Winnie Langtry of Contoocook for her “Paper Bag Apple Pie.” Way to go, Winnie! We are in awe of your pie baking prowess.
We'd like to give a HUGE thank you to all 16 bakers who entered the contest and to our judges, who ate enough pie to feed a small army.
Until next year's contest, you've got plenty of recipes to keep you busy.
Tums, anyone?
The top 5 recipes are below. For a printable copy of all of the recipes submitted, visit http://www.conmon.com/insider/pie_recipes_2009.pdf.
Paper Bag Apple Pie
Winnie Langtry, Contoocook
4-6 large apples, sliced or cut into 1/8ths
1 pie shell
1 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
5 tbsp. flour
3 tbsp. water
1 tsp. lemon juice
Mix all ingredients well and place in pie shell. Make sure you get all the liquid ingredients into the pie shell.
Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 stick butter or oleo
Combine all ingredients to make a crumb topping. Sprinkle on top of pie evenly. Place the pie in a large paper shopping bag and fasten with paper clips to seal in the moisture. Place bagged pie on a cookie sheet and bake in the middle of the oven. Make sure the sides of the bag do not touch the sides of the oven. (Recipe not recommended for small ovens.) Bake at 425 degrees for 1 hour. Remove from oven and carefully cut open the bag. Pie will be steaming. Let cool at least 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Never Fail Pie Crust
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 tsp. salt
1 egg, well beaten
5 tbsp. water
1 tsp. vinegar
Cut shortening into flour and salt until the mixture resembles corn meal. Mix liquids together and add. Mix just enough to form two balls. Each ball will make one crust. This makes a flaky and delicious pie crust. Store unused pie crust in the refrigerator for a few days only.
Caramel Peach Pie
Gena Cohen Moses, Concord
Caramel Peach pie
1 unbaked pie shell
1 3/4 cups drained peach slices in juice, reserve juice for sauce
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour (sift before measuring)
2 tbsp. sifted all-purpose flour (sift before measuring)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
Caramel sauce
2/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup reserved peach juice
2 tbsp. corn syrup
Combine all sauce ingredients in saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook for 1 minute. Set aside and cool to lukewarm. Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and sugar. Add butter, milk and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer. Add egg and beat 1 minute longer. Fold in peaches, reserving 8 slices for topping later. Pour batter into unbaked pie shell. Spoon cooled caramel sauce over top of batter. Bake at 350° for 50 to 60 minutes, or until set.
Ten minutes before the pie is done, quickly arrange reserved peach slices over the top and finish baking. Serve peach pie warm.
Apple Pie
Mary Brunette, Concord
(Recipe from “Country Pies” by Lisa Yockelson)
1 1/2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
4 cups peeled, cored and sliced apples tossed in 1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. unsalted butter cut into bits
Milk and sugar glaze: 2 tbsp. milk, 2 tbsp. sugar
Line the bottom of a 9-inch aluminum pie pan with the dough and put the dough in the refrigerator. Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl except the apples and the butter. Mix together with the apples, then neatly fill the pan. Put the butter pieces on top of the apples; spread out evenly. Roll out the rest of the pie dough. Brush the rim the rim of the bottom crust with water. Put the top on and seal, then crimp the edges. Brush on milk, then sprinkle with sugar. Cut steam vent.
Bake in preheated 425 degree oven for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for 40 minutes longer, or until crust is brown.
Foolproof Pie Dough
(From Cooks Illustrated)
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. table salt
2 tbsp. sugar
12 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup cold vodka
1/4 cup cold water
Process 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogeneous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds. Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed and dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.
Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky. Divide dough into two even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.
Apple Pie
Val Zanchuk, Concord
Three pounds of apples (all Cortlands or other tart apples, or two pounds of tart apples and one pound of a sweet apple, such as McIntosh or an Empire)
5 1/4 oz. (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
1 oz. (1/4 cup) Clear Jel (a super find corn starch)
1/2 cup apple cider
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
The two-pie dough discs
One egg, well beaten
9 or 9 1/2 inch pie plate, preferably Pyrex or ceramic
Peel, core and slice apples into thin slices. Set aside in a covered bowl. In a separate bowl, gently blend the sugar, spices and Clear Jel. Add the apple cider. Continue mixing until well blended. Pour this mixture into a saucepan and bring to a slow boil. Let boil for one minute and then set pan aside to cool. When cooled, blend the sugar mixture with the apples until the apples are evenly covered.
On a lightly floured surface, roll a dough disc into a 12-13 inch circle (slightly larger than the pie plate diameter). Roll outward, and rotate the dough or the rolling pin an eighth of a turn to keep the dough circular. Transfer the dough to the pie plate (loosely roll the dough around the rolling pin and then unroll it over the pie plate from one side to the other), fitting it to the bottom (push out any trapped air) and leaving any extra dough hanging over the sides. Add the apples, spreading them out to be slightly mounded in the center of the pie plate. Roll out the second dough disc, placing it over the apples. Tuck the top dough over the edge of the bottom dough. Pinch together to seal and create a fluted edge. Slice vents into the top crust with a sharp knife. Brush the top with the beaten egg.
Place pie into a preheated 425 degree oven. After 20 minutes, reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake for another 30 to 40 minutes or until pie is golden brown. The pie should just begin bubbling when it’s done. Remove from the oven and cool.
Butter Cup Pie
Emma Bates, Warner
14 oz. Silken tofu
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup chocolate chips
1 prepared graham cracker crust
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the tofu and maple syrup. In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine the peanut butter and chocolate chips. Microwave for 30 seconds then stir and microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring each time, until melted and smooth. With the blade running, slowly pour the chocolate peanut butter mixture into the food processor. Scrape down the sides of the work bowl and process until smooth. Pour into graham cracker crust and refrigerate at least four hours or overnight. Serves 12.
