Today was National Pi Day. Yes, they mean “Pi”, the mathematical term. But in the baking world, everyone makes “Pies” on Pi Day. Yum! Like we need another excuse to eat pie, and I love pies! I think a good slice of pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream is my absolute favorite dessert!
So, for Pi Day, I made Apple Crumb, Blueberry Lattice and Salted Caramel Pear.
When we wanted pie growing up, my mom always bought an Apple pie, most of the time with crumb topping. Also, usually the frozen kind that you had to heat up in the oven for a while. Now that I’m an adult, I like to make it homemade. Not to say the frozen kinds aren’t good. I just prefer it with fresh fruit out of the oven.
Blueberry pie wasn’t something that I grew up with. I actually only started eating it as an adult. I had it at a BBQ festival and fell in love! I’ve been making it ever since.
I decided to top this pie with a lattice crust. The blue-purple color peeking through the buttery crust is a nice contrast.
The Salted Caramel Pear Pie is something that I stumbled upon recently. It’s similar to an Apple pie, but the crisp pears give it a lovely taste. For this pie, I used small cookie cutters to cut out flower shapes. Put them in the freezer for about an hour and top your filling with them. They made any pie look beautiful.
All three pies are delicious and are a perfect ending of a great dinner.
Pi Day Pies
Ingredients
- 5 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp flour
Crumb Topping
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 stick butter
Pie Crusts
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 sticks butter, cubed and frozen
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
- 6-8 tbsp ice water
Blueberry Lattice Pie
- 4 cups blueberries
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
Salted Caramel Pear
- 4 pears, cored and sliced
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup salted caramel, store bought
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
Crusts
- combine flour, butter, shortening, salt in a food processor. Pour in water until dough comes together. Shape into a disk. Wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, divide dough into 2 pieces. Roll out one half and place in a pie dish.
Filling
- Combine all ingredients for filling. Pour into crust.
Topping
- Combine all ingredients for crumb topping. press together until crumbly. sprinkle on top of pie. Bake pie in a 350 degree oven for about 1 hour or until browned. Cool on wire rack.
Blueberry Pie
- Make pie crust from apple pie recipe. Use one crust for the bottom crust, and place into pie tin. Mix all ingredients for filling. Pour into pie tin. Cut second rolled out dough into 6 strips. Make dough into a lattice pattern. Seal the edges. Brush with egg wash. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 50-60 minutes or until browned. Cool on a wire rack.
Salted Caramel Pear
- Make pie crust from apple pie recipe. Use one crust for the bottom crust, and place into pie tin. Mix all ingredients for filling. Pour into pie tin. Use pastry and cookie cutters to cut out shapes from the second pie crust and arrange on top of the pear filling. Brush with egg wash. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 50-60 minutes or until browned. Cool on a wire rack.
