First "Pumpkin" Pie of the Season

This is a pie I made for the couple who was renting our house before we moved in. Since local pumpkins weren't in full swing at the farmer's market or co-op yet, I used a combination of butternut squash and sweet potato. Probably half of a 3-lb. squash and half of an average sized sweet potato for one pie. Otherwise, the recipe is the same one used for my standby pumpkin pie. Tasted just like pumpkin to me!

Current Pie Tally: 62

A Peach Crumb Pie for Mom

My mom asserts that peach pie is her favorite, so we made this one together when she came to visit me at our new place for the first time. Since she peeled and sliced the peaches, I won't count this one toward the final tally.

Current Pie Tally: 61

New Neighbor Apple Crumb Pie

I don't even know what variety of apple I used for this pie - maybe Honeycrisp or Jonagold. Whatever local variety was available at the co-op. At any rate, they were not recommended pie apples and I ended up cooking the pie for more than twice the time advised by the recipe. Regardless, the end result was deliciously sweet and gooey and I narrowly avoided burning the crumb topping. In fact, the above photo is of the half-cooked pie. I took it for posterity in case throwing it back in the oven proved to be disastrous.

Current Pie Tally: 61

New Neighbor Peach Blackberry Pie

I made this for our neighbors to the left a week or so after we moved in. I also made a pie for the neighbors on the right, so as not to spur neighborhood in-fighting. That one will crop up a couple posts from now. My only regret about this pie is that I didn't add more arrowroot starch. It was a bit soupy in the end. I should have added 5-6T. of the arrowroot starch instead of 3 or 4T. As for the rest of the recipe, I used a quart of blackberries and probably 6-8 peaches. And a cup of sugar. Easy as pie.

Current Pie Tally: 60

Puzzle Crust Peach Pie

Whew, sorry it got kind of dusty around here. It took a month for us to get an internet connection set up at the new place. Let's brush aside the cobwebs and get back to the pie, shall we?

While I haven't been blogging, I have been making pies. There is a week's worth of catching up to do, starting with this Puzzle Crust Peach Pie. This gem answers the question, "Does the Pie Princess ever screw up a pie?" The answer is YES. Having my own tools at my disposal definitely cuts down the probability that the pie won't turn out right. When I'm out of my element and in another's kitchen, however, the berth for error is great. It's really no surprise that the crust fell all to pieces on this one. It was hotter than Hades and I mixed it all up by hand (with a heavy bowl and two butter knives as I recall). I also rolled it out straight on the countertop. Normally, I would mix everything in the food processor and roll it out on my trusty Tupperware rolling mat. Using the food processor expedites the mixing to cut down on the melting factor. And I have a feel for when the crust is ready to come off the Tupperware mat. Long story short, I attempted to gracefully pick the crust up off the countertop and it broke into a bajillion pieces. I grabbed a spatula and slung the bits into the bottom of the pie dish anyway and sort of pressed them together a bit with my hands. I shrugged and rolled out the top crust, expecting that it too would be a disaster. It was, but part of being a pie maven is about confidence. You just have to "roll with it" sometimes. When life gives you broken pie crust, you throw it in the pan and call it Puzzle Pie. More catch-up pies to come.

The recipe for this Puzzle Crust Peach Pie is pretty standard: a bunch of peeled and sliced peaches, a cup of sugar, 3-5 T. arrowroot starch, 1/2 T. cinnamon, and a top and bottom crust.

Current Pie Tally: 59