i made a pie

This afternoon I had a lovely time hanging out with my mom & grandmother. I was on a mission, really: To make my very first pie from scratch, using my grandmother's long-loved pie crust recipe. My grandmother has not made this pie crust in years & years & years. And years. Ever since she tried the frozen pre-made packages of pie crust sold in grocery stores, she never looked back. Not once. 

My dad, unceasingly, begs & pleads for someone, ANYONE, to make one of grandma's pies with the homemade crusts. But I think mom & grandma pretend not to listen. Or they'll giggle in his direction. It's this perpetual routine they have. And when the holiday season rolls around? There is no hushing that man. 

Just give him a pie already!

Today I took on the challenge. 

But with a twist. In fact, we made a game of it. Dad was about to be the sole player in a blindfold taste test.  I made an apple pie, using the infamous recipe, while mom made a pie using a Pillsbury pie crust.

Grandmother helped me peel & cut apples.

While I rolled out pie dough, the Mr. even stopped by & swapped stories with all the ladies. He shared about how he once made a pie when he was a kid, & it didn't turn out so well. (What?!? I am gaining the most random of facts about him all the time. In fact, I just recently learned that he collected stickers & even had a sticker album in grade school. Huh?!? Pies & stickers? I'm pretty sure I love him even more.) 

Anyway, I had a bit of trouble with the dough, trying three times until I finally perfected the top crust. 

"I think it's too thick," said the Mr. 

As if his 8 year old pie-making self was suddenly an expert on the subject.

OK, my recent new explosion of love for you still exists, but step away, son.

There's nothing creative about my adorable polka dotted design. One word: Pinterest!

While the pies cooked, there was tea-sipping going on. Bits of leftover pie dough were sprinkled with cinnamon + sugar, baked, & nibbled on.

The pies filled the house with a fragrance of fruit & spice. 

And then it was time to eat. 

I'll just get to the ending.

Dad chose mom's store-bought pie over mine.

And so did the Mr.

And so did everyone else.

The Doughboy won.

I have never entered a baking contest, but I decided I would not ever like to enter one. 

I admit, the filling in my mom's pie was much sweeter & her apples were cooked to a perfect limp. Which is weird, because we used the same recipe for the filling. Whatevs. No excuses.

I personally love a thick, flaky crust. 

Which is a good thing. 

Because I have lots of pie leftover.

The winning pie.

♥

Just Like Mom Used to Make...

My mom used to make pie crusts & other doughy goodness when I was younger & she let me have the leftovers to play with. I loved it!

Well, I decided to have some pie dough fun with my girls. I have NEVER made a pie crust. (Is that sad?!) And I wasn't about to start today. I just made the dough. I promise I'll make a real pie later.

And then OUR fun began!

The girls poked & smooshed & rolled the dough. Although I warned them that it wasn't terribly tasty, they even snuck a few bites. I could've made sugar cookie dough or something more tasty. But, it's just too easy to mix flour, salt, shortening & water.

We sprinkled it with cinnamon sugar...(just like mom used to let me do...)

...& baked them in the oven.

Nothing gourmet, it doesn't even taste that good, but it was just for fun!

Introducing...Recipe Cards!

I have been wanting to make recipe cards for almost a year. I'm just not knowledgeable in all that spiffy computer graphics & design stuff. (Someday though!) I couldn't wait any longer. I figured I DO know how to cut & paste & doodle....& that's how these recipe cards came to be. I LOVE how they turned out! They'll be making their crafty debut at my holiday bazaar this weekend.

The pack features 8 recipe cards, with 2 of each doodle: a cupcake, cookie, ice cream cone & slice-o-pie. And hey, they're PERFECT paired with a fork easel!

They'll appear in the shop on the 7th! Just in time for some last minute holiday shopping!

Apricot Scone Mix

Enjoy this foodie craft tutorial!


I've received these jar mixes as gifts on a few occasions & I think they are super cool. I've never made one--until now! I'll be making this craft with my MOPS group (Mothers Of PreSchoolers) in the coming months. But, Fall is approaching & I thought that it would be a great way to welcome that lovely season that I call "favorite". And this morning when I woke up to a breezy & grey outdoors, I thought it was the perfect time to grab my jar of scone mix & bake up some warm breakfast treats for the girls & I.

INGREDIENTS:

-2 CUPS all-purpose unbleached flour

-1/2 CUP vanilla sugar** (I just used regular sugar.)

-1/4 CUP nonfat dry milk powder

-2 tsp baking powder

-1 tsp dried lemon peel

-1/4 tsp salt

-1/3 CUP shortening

-1 CUP dried apricots (or blueberries, cranberries, etc.)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Stir together flour, sugar, milk, baking powder, lemon peel & salt. Cut in the shortening using a pastry cutter or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Layer the dried ingredients & the apricots (or other dried fruit) into one-quart canning jar, tapping gently on counter between layers to settle before adding the next. (I just plopped my dry ingredients on the bottom & the fruit on top.) Stores at room temperature for up to six weeks, or freeze for up to six months.

**To make vanilla sugar, fill one-quart jar with sugar. Split vanilla bean in half lengthwise & add both halves to sugar. Flavor gets better after a couple of weeks, & it will keep as long as regular sugar.

I attached a circle piece of vintage fabric to the top of my jar with a rubber band. Then, to hide the band, I looped a piece of twine a few times around the top.

Print out the instructions for baking onto a gift tag. Attach it to the jar & you're done! It's ready for keeping OR gifting!

Now, to MAKE these goodies, simply dump the whole jar of stuff into a bowl...

..& add 1/4 CUP of water & 1 beaten egg.

Stir until just moistened. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface... ...& quickly knead for 12-15 strokes or until nearly smooth.
Pat to 1/2" thickness.

Cut into desired shape & place 1" apart on an ungreased baking sheet.

Brush with milk. Bake at 400 degrees F for 12-15 minutes or until golden.

Transfer to a rack to cool slightly & serve warm.

I brushed my slice with butter & quickly consumed.

I got the idea from the June 2008 issue of Crafts 'n things. Recipe courtesy of Recipe Goldmine.

For other jar mixes, visit:

-The Recipe Link

-Heart4home.net

-All Free Crafts

Sunshine Clay

This is called "sunshine clay" because you can literally bake it in the sunshine.

So, get ready for a super easy, super cheap craft that your kids will LOVE doing with you! You'll need 1 cup of flour, 1/2 cup of salt & 1/2 cup of water. I doubled my recipe since I wanted to make lots of fun stuff.

Mix the ingredients together in a bowl.
When the dough starts sticking all together, you can take it out...

...& start kneading it.

My dough was a little too sticky. I'm not sure why. Maybe the humidity that day? I added more flour.

In the end you should get a nice smooth ball of dough like this.

Now gather up some cookie cutters & other play-dough sculpting toys & get creative!

I made this little blueberry tart.

To make the tart, you'll need to form some dough into a ball & then squish it into a nice round thick pancake shape. Form another piece of dough, long enough to go around the pancake, into a snake shape. Connect the two until they form a "bowl" shape.

With your thumb & forefinger on one hand & your forefinger on the other hand, pinch the dough so it forms these scalloped shapes all around the edge.

Now roll small "blueberries" & toss them into the tart.


After all our creations were formed I had a small ball of dough leftover. I pressed a leaf into it to make this little nature biscuit.

Now, set your pieces outside to sunbathe. Or, if you're like me, you can pop them in the oven for 2 hours at 200 degrees. I set my pieces on parchment paper. Now, I will admit that after 2 hours my pieces weren't hard & solid all the way through so I let them air dry for a long while. That didn't seem to change them. I painted 'em anyway & they seem just fine. I'm just letting you know this in case you have the same problem.

Gather some paintbrushes & acrylic paint. I used wax paper to protect the table & my trusty foil for a paint palette. If you need to smooth down any rough eges, sandpaper works great.


The girls loved how the faux foodies turned out. I think I may let them have these treats to play with in their wee play kitchen center.

When the paint is dry, coat them with Mod Podge or some other clear sealer.

Do you like my blueberry tart paper weight?

My little dog lover helped me make this pooch & a giant dog bone.

A pencil holder was crafted for my soon-to-be Kindergartner. To make it, just form some dough into a ball. Then, stick pencils into the dough & bake. (Take the pencils out before baking!) Take the pencil holder out a little past half way through the baking process & re-poke the holes with the pencils--the holes start to close a bit while in the hot oven.

I made a little disc of clay, painted a cupcake on it & glued a magnet to the back.

The cool thing about this project is that the possibilities are endless!! You can make ornaments, jewelry, small trinket boxes, initials, ANYTHING! Enjoy this Summer Fun Idea!!!