Pie Baking Tips: Your Guide to Stress-Free Pie Making
These pie baking tips are here to streamline your baking process and help you make lovely pies that taste awesome without stress reliably every time. Need to make a pie, but you’re overwhelmed with the do’s and don’ts to the point that you think this is too hard? I’ve been there too; but after years of making the Best Chocolate Pie and in more recent years discovering a truly No-Fail Pie Crust, I’ve compiled a list of pie baking tricks and tips that will make your pie making actually fun.
1. Use Reliable Pie Crust Recipes
Unfortunately I believe most of people’s confusion with pie baking comes down to unclear, non-specific recipes. For my students I call these “Grandma Recipes”. No shade to Grandma who won her knowledge through countless pies probably while doing 17 other things at the same time without modern gadgets to help her, but anything with “about” this much ice water is not going to help a new baker or give her confidence to try. Novice bakers need specifics.
Because I work with kids who need clear, specific instructions to do things well, I spend countless hours simplifying directions and writing recipes that reliably work without double guessing anything. If something fails, I go back to the drawing board until it’s right. You can bet your flaky pie crust that if I tell you how to do something it will work! Here are my pie crust recipes that you will never ever have to guess about. They just work, and they’re all delicious.
Cream Cheese Pastry: For No-Guesswork Piemaking
Tangy cream cheese adds some flavor to this easy to make flaky dough that’s perfect for pies, rugelach and other pastries. You’ll love the no-guesswork method of making pie crust. This makes the most delicious pie crust and you will NEVER have to guess if you have enough ice water in it!
Oreo Pie Crust: Failproof For the Best Pies
Oreos are the undisputed queen of packaged cookies and they bake up into one of the best crumb crusts ever. Sandwich cookie crusts can be tricky because of their filling, but my method works without drama. Use this recipe as a template to make any cream-filled sandwich cookie.
How To Make a Perfect Graham Cracker Crust Every Time
A simple graham cracker crust that will be ready to fill with your favorite creamy fillings in no time.
The Best Pie Crust Recipes
Good pies start with good pie crusts, but too often pie crust recipes leave everything up to eyeballing. Get reliable no-fail pie crust recipes that leave nothing to chance for perfect, flavorful, extra flaky pies every single time.
2. Use Parchment for Better Pies
Rolling out pie crust on parchment is one of the sneakiest, best uses of parchment . Here’s how parchment helps your pie crusts:
- Less Flour: Pie crust rolled out on parchment requires less flour than one rolled on a counter, making for lighter, more tender crusts. The crust sticks less too! You can roll the crust on one piece of parchment or between two sheets for even better results.
- Easy Chilling: If your pie crust gets too warm (the butter in the dough will feel smeary), transfer the crust right on top the parchment into the fridge or freezer for a few minutes. You can literally slide the paper onto a sheet pan and toss it in the chill box in one fell swoop. When the dough is chilled well enough the top paper will peel away easily.
- Easy Transferring: It’s not always easy to transfer a pie crust into the pie pan. Crust can stretch and distort or tear, which can be frustrating. If you roll out your crust on parchment, leave it on the paper and flip the paper into the pie pan. When you’ve finagled it in place, simply peel off the paper.
- Making Templates: Parchment is invaluable for making templates. Not sure how big to make your lattice crust? Trace the pie plate on parchment (flip it upside down!). The same goes for elaborate pies like my American Flag Slab Pie. There’s no need to do your figuring out on the pie crust when you can do all that on parchment!
Stop buying rolls of parchment and go to your local restaurant supply and buy a box of half-sheet sized pre-cut sheets of parchment. A box lasts me a couple years, and I bake multiple times a week. You will use parchment for everything baking related and more.
3. Foil in Pie Baking
Foil is another sneaky trick to help you make better pies. Here’s when to use it:
- Blind Baking: When you need to pre-bake a pie crust for a little while, place a piece of foil over the rolled out crust. Fill the foil with beans or pie weights and pre bake as needed.
- End of Baking: If you feel like the top or the crust of your pie is getting too brown too quickly, cover the affected areas with foil and continue to bake. The foil will protect your pie from too much browning while still allowing the middle of the pie to continue to cook.
4. Chill Early and Often
For a pie crust to bake up flaky, the butter needs to be cold, laminated in between layers of dough. Though pie crust is not AS flaky as a Danish pastry dough or Puff Pastry Dough, the principles of good dough making apply here too.
If at any point your pie crust starts to stretch and distort, it’s likely the butter is too warm. Pop the crust onto a piece of parchment and fridge the butter firms up again.
If you’re decorating a pie with a Lattice Crust or a decorative edge, it’s a good idea to chill the bottom crust while you make the decoration. A pie crust should always be chilled for a little while before baking.
Cold pastry is:
- Less likely to burn
- More likely to bake up tender and flaky since the gluten has a chance to relax.
- Able to hold it’s shape, making any decorations bake up pretty as you wanted them to be!
5. Use Kitchen Shears for Trimming Crust
Kitchen shears are by far the easiest way to trim away excess pie crust from a shell. They cut cleanly and safely without distorting the pastry at all.
Best of all, they require NO skill to use since we all know how to use scissors. If you have struggled to cut away excess pie crust with a paring knife, using scissors will be a revelation.
6. Use a Pizza Cutter
Like the kitchen shears, pizza cutters are excellent for cutting through pastry without stretching or distorting the dough. That they make clean, quick work of this task is even better.
Any time you want to make a Lattice Crust a pizza cutter is an essential tool for greatness!
7. Clear Quilter’s Ruler for Perfect Measurements
A clear quilting ruler is a sneaky non-kitchen tool that makes easy work of so many things. It is superior to a measuring tape because you can set the ruler straight on a dough and see exactly where you are cutting.
Combined with a pizza cutter, a ruler will help you make straight, even lines every time, giving you confidence if you haven’t made enough pies to feed a battalion before.
8. Make Pie Fillings Ahead of Time
While it’s not necessary to make pie fillings ahead of time, it makes things much much easier. Having your pie filling ready to go means that you can pull together a pie in a shorter time span, streamlining your workflow and taking the stress out of the process.
Having pie filling made ahead of time also ensures that your fruit is COOKED when it comes out of the pie. There’s less guessing about if the apples will be tender and no worrying about soggy crusts. Here are my favorite make ahead pie fillings:
Make Ahead Apple Pie Filling: Your Pie Will Thank You
Save time in your pie-making ventures by making your own incredible caramelized apple filling. A bag in the freezer, and you’re ready to make a pie on demand with no fuss.
Dulce de Leche: So Much Better Homemade
This milk-based caramel sauce is more forgiving to make than traditional caramel sauces with soft, spreadable consistency that’s perfect for spreading between cookies, sweetening up your coffee, or adding as a layer in pies like Banoffee Pie.
Homemade Pumpkin Pie Filling: 1 Minute To Easy Pies
If you love baking with pumpkin pie filling but not necessarily always making a pumpkin pie, having pumpkin pie filling on hand might be your perfect solution. I love it for pumpkin brownies, pumpkin hand pies, and mini pumpkin pies. Double or triple it if you’re making a bunch of pies for Thanksgiving.
Chocolate Pastry Cream: Luscious Filling Better Than the Box
Chocolate pastry cream is even more luxurious than vanilla pastry cream with the dark rich flavors of ultra smooth chocolate. The gelatin helps set the cream for easy piping and adds even more smoothness and a silky mouth feel you only get in the best chocolate desserts.
10 Minute Vanilla Pastry Cream: Must Know Recipe
Ultra smooth rich vanilla custard you can use to fill pies, tarts, pastries, donuts or as a base for German buttercream. Anytime you want a nice pudding filling, a batch of pastry cream will get you there. Similar to the pourable custard creme anglaise, this pastry cream (aka creme patisserie) is thick enough to pipe.
Easy Bourbon Peach Pie Filling
Go ahead and load up on fruit from roadside peach stands and then you’ll be months ahead of the game for Thanksgiving pie prep. Use frozen peaches, and you can make cherry pie year round. This recipe makes enough for one 9” pie.
The Best Homemade Cherry Pie Filling
Making cherry pie filling ahead of time lets you take advantage of cherry season for fresh fruit helping you get ahead on your Thanksgiving pie prep. Use frozen cherries, and you can make cherry pie year round. This recipe makes enough for one 9” pie plus enough for half a batch of Mini Cherry Pies or Cherry Hand Pies and a Black Forest Cherry Tart.
Make-Ahead Pie Filling Recipes
Baking pies is super easy when you have your filling ready ahead of time. Whether you want to work a day or two ahead or want to freeze things to save time later, these pie filling recipes have you covered.
9. Think Outside of the Pie Plate
Pies need not be only the classic 9″ pie made in a pie plate .
Pies are equally good when you make them into hand pies, mini pies, tarts, or as slab pies. Here’s when I use different shapes:
- Hand Pies: When you want pie for breakfast! Hand pies are awesome when you have leftover filling of any kind or leftover pastry. They can be freeform and completely imperfect and they will still be awesome. Try Cherry Turnovers or Pumpkin Hand Pies.
- Mini Pies: Mini pies are great for Thanksgiving. Easily one of the best parts of Thanksgiving is the variety of everything. Mini pies let you sneak in another dessert without having to commit to eating an entire piece of pie. They’re so cute too, which is a bonus. Try my Mini Cranberry Tarts, Mini Cherry Pies, and Mini Strawberry Tarts, and Mini Pumpkin Pies.
- Tarts: Tarts are amazing when you want to have a pretty looking pie but don’t want to cut it in traditional slices. The beautiful decorative edge on tart pans help unsure bakers make pretty pies too without worry. Try my Black Forest Cherry Tart.
- Slab Pies: Slab pies are the queen of feeding a crowd. This Banana Pudding Slab Pie is great any time of year as is my Flag Slab Pie.
- Pie Bars: Pie bars are great when you won’t want to bother with a traditional crust or want slightly smaller pieces. Cookie dough crusts can make for fuss free pie making. Try my Apple Crumble Bars or Lemon Meringue Pie Bars.
10. Make Freezer Pies
Freezer pies, like freezer cooking of any sort are a gift to your future self. Having a frozen pie ready to go in the freezer is a party waiting to happen, a potluck dessert you don’t have to get at the store, or a comforting treat for a friend in need ready to go. They are dead easy to make and will make you look like a pie making genius even if you are a novice baker.
My Peanut Butter Pie wins Thanksgiving most every year, and my Frozen Mango Pie brings some much needed refreshment on hot summer days or boring winter days when you’re dreaming of beach time.
