Starry-eyed about saving a stary pie?

A few days ago, I made some pies. A few baby pies. One was blueberry. The other five were apple. They were covered in stars. They were cute, just like most human babies.

I wanted them to be jam packed with fruit, but I didn't make enough pie filling. Oops. 

I charged on and filled the pies with what I had. I should have just made more filling.

 I baked the blueberry pie and one of the apple pies.
The rest of the pies were frozen...

but that all changed today.

 The left star looked like a gummy bear. I like gummy bears.

 This was the original baby Apple Pie. 

Looked normal. 

Tasted normal. 

But was not bursting with apple filling.

I tried to think of some ways to add some apple filling.

I didn't have too many options.

I could add some to the top of the pie.

OR

I could add some to the bottom of the pie.

 For this one, I added some apple filling to the bottom of the pie 

and then flipped it upside down like an apple upside down cake.

For this one, I added some apple filling to the top of the pie. The pie pastry layers were very moist. If you like that soft bottom pie layer, this baby is for you because this pie had plenty of it.

In my opinion, adding the extra apple to the bottom of the pie had the best outcome because the top pie layer (which became the bottom layer) crisped up in the oven and added some crunch!

Ahhh the sweet smell of SUCCESS! The Stary Pie was saved!

 

Recipe for the Pie Crust 
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2 sticks (8 ounces) cold unsalted butter 
2 1/2 (12 ounces) cups all purpose flour 
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (5 to 6 ounces) buttermilk (I used heaving cream)

1.  Cut the butter into 1-inch pieces and place in the freezer to chill for 15 minutes.  Measure out the buttermilk and store in the refrigerator to keep it cold (you could even put it in the freezer for a few minutes too).

2.  Sift together the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl.  Take the cold butter from the freezer and toss it with the flour mixture.

3.  Dump the cold butter cubes and flour mixture onto a large work area for rolling.  With a rolling pin, roll the mixture, flattening the butter cubes with the flour into long, thin, floured butter sheets.  Work quickly to ensure that the butter stays cold.  Below is what the rolled butter and flour look like after I’ve gathered them together on the work surface a bit. 

4.  Place the flour and flattened butter back in the large bowl and chill for 10 minutes.    When the butter is cold, remove the bowl from the refrigerator, make a small well in the center of the flour and butter mixture.  Add the cold buttermilk to the bowl all at once.  Begin to bring the dough together with one hand ( keep the other hand free to answer the phone).  Moisten all of the flour with the milk, using your hand to break up large clumps of milk and flour.  The dough will be rather shaggy, but you can add another tablespoon of buttermilk, if you see that all your flour isn’t moistened.  Form the dough into two disks.  The disks will be rough, and hard to shape together, but once they rest in the fridge for an hour, they’ll be easier to roll out. 

5.  Chill the dough for at least an hour in the refrigerator.  At this point, the dough will keep in the fridge for up to three days, or in the freezer for up to three weeks.  For freezing, roll the dough out into sheets and wrap them in plastic film.

6.  Roll out the top crust large enough to cut a 12-inch circle.  
Transfer the pie filling mixture to the pie shell.  Moisten the border of the bottom crust by brushing it lightly with water and place the top crust over the filling.  Trim the overhang of the top crust so that there is only 1/2-inch of overhand.  Tuck the overhand under the bottom crust boarder and press down all around to seal it.  Crimp the border using a fork or your fingers and make about 5 evenly spaced 2-inch slashes starting about 1 inch from the center of the pie and radiating toward the edge.  Cover the pie loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 1 hour before baking.  This will chill and relax the pastry, preventing shrinking.

Adapted from Joy the Baker


Recipe for the Apple Pie Filling
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8 apples, (such as McIntosh or Northern Spy or Granny Smith) about 3 lb (1.5 kg)
3/4 cup(175 mL) granulated sugar
2 tbsp(25 mL)  cornstarch
1 tsp(5 mL) cinnamon
1 pinch ground nutmeg (I did not add this)
1 pinch salt
2 tbsp (25 mL) butter, softened

Peel and core apples; cut into 1/4-inch (5 mm) thick slices and place in large bowl. In small bowl, toss together sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt ; add to apples and toss to coat.


Baking Instructions
 For one large pie: Bake in bottom third of 450°F (230°C) oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F (180°C); bake for 65 minutes or until bottom is deep golden and filling is bubbling and thickened. Let cool on rack. (Make-ahead: Set aside for up to 24 hours.)

For 6 small pies: Bake at 350°F (180°C); bake for 45 minutes or until bottom is deep golden and filling is bubbling and thickened. Let cool on rack. (Make-ahead: Set aside for up to 24 hours.)