Pie For Dummies

This Pie can be made by anyone and will usually turn out great. The bottom crust is mixed in the pie pan. If you're making a fruit pie, the top crust is a sweet crumble.

Bottom Curst Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk or water
• ½ cup olive oil

Instructions:

SIFT, (by sift I mean you MUST sift) flour with salt and sugar into a pie pan. Mix and add milk and olive oil. mix it all up in the pan and press it into the edges to form the crust. (chilled milk and oil work best)

Filling:

Mix in a bowl:

• 5 to 6 cups of fruit, like apples or blue berries
• Juice of 1 lemon
• ¾ cup sugar (brown, white, honey, or a mix)

Stir and taste. If it's too sweet add more lemon, if it's too tart add more sugar. Note: you will want it on the tart side because the topping is VERY sweet.

Add:

• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Pour filing into the bottom crust:
You may dot the top of the fruit with ¼ cup butter cut into pieces.

Topping for fruit pie:

In a large bowl combine:

• ½ cup flour
• ½ cup oats
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt (optional, but nice)

in another bowl beat together:

• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Stir into flour mixture and Spread evenly over fruit.
We bake pies in a hot oven, 425 F for 40-50 min.
It's done when the topping is browned and the juices are bubbling.

For a Custard Pie:

prepare the Bottom Curst above.

Prepare milk:
2 ½ cups scalded milk (bring milk just to the boiling point then cool)

Mix together and stir well:

• 3 eggs, beaten
• ¾ cup white sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Blend in
• cooled scalded milk

You can brush the crust with egg white to help prevent it from becoming soggy.

Just add the extra yolk to the custard, it makes it richer.

Pour custard into pie crust. Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon nutmeg.


Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean. While most recipes say custard cooks in 35 minutes, I've never had one finish before 40 minutes, must be that extra egg yolk.

Cool on rack.

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