how to make pie

Step 1: Select Your Bottom Crust

• Many pies use a basic pastry crust for the bottom crust. You can also use a graham cracker crust, a chocolate crust, or a cookie crust.

1. If the pie will be baked, such as an apple pie or a blueberry pie, you don't need to pre-bake the crust.
2. If the pie shell is just being filled with a custard filling and chilled, it should be baked before filling.
3. Consider adding a tablespoon of sugar and a complementary spice, such as an 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon, to the crust for flavor.
4. A teaspoon of vinegar added to the pie crust can help ensure that the crust is flaky.

Step 2: Select a Filling

• You are only limited by your imagination when you think about what you can bake in a pie.

1. Fruit pies are filled with chopped fruit and sugar. Some fruits benefit from a tablespoon of lemon juice to perk up the flavor. Flour or tapioca is added to fruit pies to thicken the juices.
   1. • Flour: 2-4 tablespoons
   2. Cornstarch: 1 1/2- 3 tablespoons
   3. Arrowroot: 1 1/2- 3 tablespoons
   4. Tapioca: 1/4- 1/3 cup
   5. ClearJel: 1 1/2- 3 tablespoons
2. Cream pies are actually custards that are thickened by cooking milk with eggs on the stove top until thickened. Cream pies are using topped with whipped cream.
3. Meringue pies are usually made with a base that's made with lemon or lime curd, thickened with eggs, and then baked briefly to set a meringue topping.

Step 3: Select a Topping for Your Pie

1. Pies can be topped with a pastry crust, either as a standard top crust or as a lattice crust.
2. You can also top pies with a streusel crust or meringue.
3. Pies can also be topped with whipped cream.