This is a great time if you are a frugal cook who wants to enjoy the fruits of your summer labour all winter long.
You may be lucky enough to have fruit trees in your yard. Even if you don’t, locally grown fruit is at its peak and lowest price of the season making this the perfect time to make pies and freeze them. You can make several pies for the price of one store-bought pie.
Apple pies are great for freezing but only if you use apples that are firm and a bit tart. The last thing you want is a soggy, mushy pie.
You can take the easy way out and buy ready-made, frozen pie crusts, but it’s a lot cheaper to make your own. The best recipes are on the boxes of shortening. One box should get you two 9-inch two-crust pies or 4 single crust pies.
Besides the simple ingredients, you will need glass or non shiny pie plates and a rolling pin.
If all of this talk of making your own pie crusts has you quivering with fear, relax, there is a simple shortcut to pie making: crumb crusts. Ginger Snaps, graham crackers, cereal and even stale bread and cakes can be made into crusts.
Here’s a recipe for a 9-Inch crumb crust:
- crush or grind fine the crust ingredients or put into a blender. You will want 1 ½ cups of fine crumbs.
- Stir in ¼ cups of confectioners’ sugar and 6 tablespoons of melted butter.
- Add a teaspoon of cinnamon.
- With ¼ of the crust reserved for the topping, pat the rest into the lightly greased pan.
- When the pie is filled, use the reserved crumbs for the topping.
Baking pies before freezing them is optional. Just make sure to follow the right set of instructions before serving:
Unbaked: Bake uncooked pies while they are still frozen in a 450 degree preheated oven for 15 minutes. Turn the temperature down to 375 degrees and heat about 1 hour in total.
Baked: Thaw frozen baked pies at room temperature for about 8 hours. To serve hot rather than at room temperature, heat a frozen baked pie in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.
Not only is it convenient to have ready made desserts on hand, but you are also in control of the ingredients in DIY pies. You can pile on the apples and cut down on the sugar without sacrificing flavour.
