Tag Archives: Easy pie crust

Sour Cream Apple Pie

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What a sweetheart of a pie! Thin slices of apples are enveloped by creamy, delicately flavored custard. Sour cream makes it slightly tangy, contrasting with the sweet, crunchy cinnamon streusel topping.

I don’t remember where I got this recipe, but I know I’ve been making it for at least thirty years—and I don’t even like apple pie.

At least, I don’t like the kind with sticky, sugary, gooey filling that has so much cinnamon in it you can’t even taste the apples. Pies were not served in my household when I was growing up (with the exception of pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving), so the closest thing I remember was that nasty apple dessert in the TV dinners. Oh, and Hostess fruit pies. (I ate the glazed pastry and discarded the fruit filling.)

I’m sure there are good traditional apple pies out there. Your grandma probably makes a beauty! But give me this sour cream version any day.

The type of apples you use can make a big difference. I put some Granny Smith apples in this pie, but wasn’t crazy about how firm the apples were. If you want to use them, try steaming or simmering them briefly before adding to the sour cream mixture. If you have access to Honeycrisp, they’re wonderful in pie. Braeburn and Golden Delicious are very good too.

My recipe makes enough filling for a large deep-dish pie. If you are using a standard pie pan, you’ll have filling left over. You can bake it in lightly buttered ramekins, topping each with streusel mixture. (Make another half batch of streusel, if necessary.) Or you can toss in another cup of apple slices and make two pies.

Sour Cream Apple Pie
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Makes one large deep-dish pie.
Ingredients
  • PIE CRUST:
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup shortening, chilled
  • ¼ cup milk
  • 1 tablespoon vodka (or vinegar, if preferred)
  • PIE FILLING:
  • 1½ cups sour cream
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 6 cups thinly sliced apples (best: Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Golden Delicious. A mixture is good!)
  • CINNAMON STREUSEL TOPPING:
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • ⅓ cup flour
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon (reduce if you want a light-colored topping)
  • Pinch of salt
  • ¼ cup butter, melted
Instructions
  1. PIE CRUST: Combine flour and salt in a medium bowl. Cut in shortening until it looks like coarse crumbs.
  2. Mix milk and vodka (or vinegar) together and pour all at once into flour mixture. Toss lightly with a fork just until it forms a ball.
  3. Roll out between two sheets of parchment, lightly dusted with flour.. Roll from the center out, Remove top sheet of parchment. Lay pie pan upside down on dough. With a pastry cutter or sharp knife, cut a circle of dough at least 1½ inch bigger than the pan, all the way around. Place pan right side up and move dough to pan, carefully easing it in. (Hint: slide a flat baking sheet under the parchment. Gently place the pie pan upside down, centered on top of the dough. With one hand on the pie pan and one under the baking sheet, flip it all over. So easy!)
  4. Fold excess dough under and crimp or flute the edges. Place in the refrigerator to stay cool.
  5. PIE FILLING: In a large bowl, stir together the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon until well combined..
  6. Stir in the sugar, flour, and salt.
  7. Heat oven to 400 F.
  8. Peel and quarter apples. (Approximately 4 large apples or 6 medium). Remove the cores and slice thin—less than ¼ inch. When you have about 6 cups, stir into sour cream mixture.
  9. Remove pie pan from refrigerator and pour apple filling into crust, all the way to the top.
  10. Place pan in the oven with a baking sheet on the rack below, just in case of drips. Bake for 15 minutes. Without opening oven, reduce heat to 350 F and bake for an additional 45 minutes.
  11. CINNAMON STREUSEL TOPPING: Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, melted butter and salt.
  12. Remove pie from oven and crumble the topping over it, covering the entire surface. (Add piecrust cutouts here, if desired.)
  13. Return pie to oven and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes, or until crust is light brown and topping is firm.
  14. Allow pie to cool on a rack until just barely warm. Wonderful when topped with vanilla ice cream!
  15. Store covered in the refrigerator.
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Adding a little vodka (or vinegar) to the liquid makes a flakier pie crust.

Work the shortening into the flour mixture, using a pastry blender. Cold fingers work, too.

Add liquid and toss lightly with a fork until dough can be gathered into a ball.

Ease the dough into the pan, folding over edge and crimping.

Slice the apples thin (less than 1/4 inch), especially if you’re using Granny Smiths; they take forever to get soft! Stir into sour cream mixture.

Fill up that pie! The filling will puff up in the oven, but I’ve never had it drip. Just in case, put a baking sheet on the rack under it. (This will still allow air flow.)

After an hour of baking, remove pie and add topping. (I added some Valentine’s Day hearts too.) Return to oven until crust is toasty brown and topping is firm.

I made an extra half batch of dough and filled these cutouts with cinnamon sugar and sprinkles.

Baked! Let it cool until it’s JUST warm enough to melt vanilla ice cream.

Happy Valentine’s Day! Hope it’s sweet.

Sour Cream Apple Pie

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I’ve never liked apple pies—too sweet, too sticky. But this apple pie is different; the sour cream filling mellows out the flavor, the spices aren’t overwhelming, and the cinnamon streusel topping is waaaay better than a top crust.

I posted this recipe years ago in my Yummy Northwest column (Yummy Northwest is gone now, but I saved copies for posterity) and consider it one of my go-to recipes for cold weather and holidays. I’ll bet you will, too.

I’ve been making this for over forty years, and honestly can’t remember where I got the original recipe, but if I find the source I will definitely give credit to the genius who created this!

Sour Cream Apple Pie
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Ingredients
  • PIE CRUST:
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup cold shortening
  • ¼ cup very cold milk
  • 1 tablespoon vodka (or vinegar, if preferred)
  • PIE FILLING:
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 4 cups apples, peeled and thinly sliced (I like to use Granny Smith apples )
  • STREUSEL:
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ⅓ cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ cup butter, melted
Instructions
  1. CRUST: In a medium bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in the shortening, using a pastry blender, until there are no lumps larger than peas.
  2. Combine milk and vodka (or vinegar) and add, tossing with a fork (or your fingers) until it holds together. Roll out a crust a little bigger than your pan, and ease it into the pan, crimping the edges. Use a small cookie cutter to cut shapes to decorate the edge of the crust, if desired. (I like to brush the shapes with a little melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar before adding. I bake a few separately to decorate the top of the baked pie, too.)
  3. Preheat oven to 400 F. For filling: mix flour, sugar, salt, and nutmeg in large bowl.
  4. Mix together egg, sour cream, vanilla, and apples. Stir into flour mixture and spoon into pie shell. Mix together ingredients for crumb topping and set aside.
  5. Bake pie at 400 F for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 F for 30 minutes. Remove pie from oven and sprinkle with all the prepared crumb topping. Return to oven for 15 minutes.
  6. Enjoy warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
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I hurried through this post because someone asked for the recipe. I’ll make it again in the next few days (the sacrifices I make for you!) and add prep photos. But it’s pretty easy. You’ve got to give this one a try!

Ruffles & Roses Banana Cream Pie

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Treat your Valentine to a very special pie this year. A thick, ruffled pastry surrounds the vanilla wafer bottom crust topped with velvety banana cream filling. Add whipped cream, a few pastry decorations, or even a drizzle of chocolate sauce to take this dessert to the next level.

You don’t have to have a pie-shaped pan (though this might be a good excuse to splurge on one), but you do need a deep-dish pie pan because this makes a generous amount of filling. It might be a good idea to be prepared with a few cupcake liners in case you have extra filling. Just layer a spoonful of cookie crust, a few banana slices, and a dollop of filling and put the mini desserts in the freezer for another time.

And . . . speaking of freezers, if you want neat, tidy slices of banana cream pie, I recommend freezing the pie and cutting it frozen. Add the little decorations and fresh banana slices before serving. If you’re using fresh whipped cream, add it after the frozen pie has been cut. If you’re using topping in a tub, it can be added before freezing.

ONLY cut as many pieces as you need, and return the remaining pie to the freezer immediately, because once it’s frozen it won’t look pretty when you take it out of the fridge the next day. 

You don’t have to freeze it, of course, but a cream pie is, by nature, soft . . . and it can get a little messy when serving. If you’re more about eating it than taking photos of it, then this won’t bother you one bit. And oh, my is it creamy. Mmmm.

I just have to tell you, as much as I love the soft, creamy pie, I really can’t resist it when it’s frozen. I may have added a little chocolate sauce, some peanuts, and a cherry to create my own “banana split pie”. The frozen filling is just like rich ice cream.

Ruffles & Roses Banana Cream Pie
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This is a generous recipe, enough for a large, deep-dish pie pan. You may want to reserve a little of the cookie crust. If you have extra filling, layer a few cupcake liners or ramekins with crumbs, banana slices, and filling. Wrap well and freeze for later!
Ingredients
  • PASTRY CRUST:
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup shortening, chilled
  • ¼ cup milk
  • 1 tablespoon vodka (or vinegar, if you prefer)
  • COOKIE CRUST:
  • 1 cup finely crushed vanilla wafers
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • FILLING:
  • 2 eggs, plus 2 yolks
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1½ cups sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ⅓ cup cornstarch
  • 4 cups whole milk
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 4 large firm bananas (save one for garnish)
  • Whipped cream (or topping in a tub), banana slices, sprinkles, pastry garnishes, chocolate drizzle for decorating if desired
Instructions
  1. PASTRY:
  2. In a medium bowl, combine flour and salt. Work the cold shortening into flour until the size of peas.
  3. Combine the milk and vodka (or vinegar) and drizzle into flour mixture, tossing with a fork. Stir gently until it comes together.
  4. Working with half of the dough at a time, place between lightly floured pieces of parchment and roll until about ⅛-inch thick. Cut strips wide enough to reach from the bottom edge of your pie pan to about ½ inch over the top. Cut strips into manageable lengths (for me, this was about 6 -7 inches long) and, one at a time, lay them loosely along the side of your pie pan, gently pleating as you go to create ruffles. Each time you use a new piece, roll the end a little and nudge it up against the piece you just added, to hide the edge. Press the dough along the bottom edge of the pie pan as you go. (The cookie crust will fill the bottom later.) Gather dough scraps and reroll all at once if needed.
  5. Place a piece of foil along the bottom of the pie pan and fill with pie weights or beans. Any extra scraps may be cut into hearts or shaped into roses and leaves for decoration. Place those on the crust now, using a little milk to anchor them. Press firmly. Place crust in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. (Small shapes - like hearts - can be baked on cookie sheet for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown.)
  6. Heat oven to 375 F.
  7. Place pie pan on baking sheet for easy handling, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully lift out the foil and weights.
  8. COOKIE CRUST: Combine crushed vanilla wafers, brown sugar, and melted butter. Put in bottom of pie pan and press down firmly, using a measuring cup or your hand. Be careful, the pan will be hot!
  9. Return to oven for an additional 20 minutes, or until the pie crust is golden. Cool on a rack.
  10. FILLING:
  11. In a small bowl, whisk together the two eggs and 2 yolks and the lemon juice. Set aside.
  12. In a large pan, combine the sugar, salt, cornstarch, and milk. Whisk constantly over medium heat until mixture is steamy and beginning to bubble. Reduce heat to low.
  13. Slowly add about 1 cup of the hot mixture into the egg mixture, whisking vigorously. Pour the egg mixture back into the pan and stir well.
  14. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until mixture is thick and begins to make big bubbles in the center, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Pour into a heat-proof bowl and cover. Chill for 1 hour.
  15. Slice 3 bananas. Pour half of the cream filling into the pie pan. Cover with all of the banana slices. Top with remaining filling (as much as your pie will hold.) Chill for at least 4 hours. Top with whipped cream (or topping in a tub) and decorate if desired.
  16. If you want frozen banana pie (yum!) lay a sheet of plastic wrap on top of the filling, wrap well, and freeze. When ready to serve, cut as many pieces as you need and then return remaining pie to the freezer; it will not hold well in the refrigerator once it has been frozen. Allow the pie slices to thaw slightly, top with whipped cream, and serve.
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Cut wide strips of pie dough to create ruffles

Pleat the ruffles and press along the bottom edge of pie pan.

I used a silicone mold for the roses and a cutter for the leaves and hearts.

Add foil and weights (I have a bag o’ beans I use over and over) and any pastry decorations you’re using.

Bake 20 minutes, then press cookie crumbs into the bottom of the pie. Bake an additional 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Cook filling until thick and bubbly, then whisk about a cup into the egg mixture and return all to the pan on low heat.

cook and stir on low heat until thick. It should be “blurping” big bubbles.

Add a layer of chilled filling, add sliced bananas, then top with more filling. Place plastic wrap right on top of the filling and chill for at least 4 hours

Add real whipped cream when ready to serve. (I made ruffles.) If you’re using tubbed topping, this can be done a couple of hours ahead. Decorate.

My apologies to Dean Martin, but I’m going to change his song just a bit:

“When the moon hits your eye like a big piece of pie, that’s amore”

Nothin’ says amore like a beautiful slice of pie, right?

Lorinda