October 27, 2002
Pumpkins and Apples
posted by Nadia

pumpkin

As promised -- I made a jack-o-lantern, baked the pumpkin seeds for a snack, and made an apple pie. While I usually use my mom's pie crust recipe, the past few times I have been disappointed by the results; but I suspect this has more to do with my ever-growing laziness (esp. in terms of keeping butter freezing) than any fault in the recipe. Just for a bit of variety, I tried the Cook's Illustrated pie crust recipe, which differs only in the proportion of butter to shortening. This time around I dutifully froze the butter and shortening in bits, cuisenarted quickly, and mixed in the ice-cold water by hand in a bowl with the tips of my frozen little fingers. And, I'm proud to say, the crust came out very well indeed.

Goal for my next apple pie: perfect the filling!


apple pie

Cook's Illustrated Pie Crust

1 1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tb. sugar
4 Tb. cold butter
3 Tb. cold shortening
4-5 Tb. ice water


My Mom's Foolproof Pie Crust
(for 1-sided pie)

1 1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tb. sugar
6 Tb. cold butter
2 Tb. cold shortening
2-3 Tb. ice water