herringbone lattice apple pie

When I first saw this herringbone lattice pie on Hummingbird High's Instagram feed, I was smitten. It was SO BEAUTIFUL!!! And I wanted to make it! And after reading her blog post, I found the tutorial at Serious Eats. She even has a video that is super helpful in learning how to "weave" the herringbone design! 

For the pie crust, she used a pasta machine to get perfectly sized strips of pie crust dough, but I just rolled it out with a rolling pin until it was about 1/8 inch thick, and then used two chopsticks (that I taped together) as a guide for my pastry wheel to cut the strips. (You could also use a pizza cutter, or even a knife!).

Also, I used my favorite pie crust recipe (which you can find in my book, The Hello Kitty Baking Book), but you could use her recipe as well, as it is pretty close to the recipe in the book anyway!

The first time that I attempted this, I found the first half of the "weaving" of the pie crust strips pretty easy, but then got super confused on the second half (it probably didn't help that I was drinking wine while making my pie!), but I thought it still turned out pretty cool anyway. :)

It also helps to chill the strips when they start to get soft, but we were having a BBQ and I was in a rush so I was being impatient and only chilled them before starting.

For the filling I also used my apple pie recipe from the book. Before baking, I brushed the top of the pie with egg wash and sprinkled on some sanding sugar.

(Just so you know, the whole house will smell delicious while this pie is baking in the oven.)

I attempted to make this pie again a few weeks later, and this time I was more diligent about chilling the strips when they started to become soft.

Again, the first half of the weaving went great! But I got confused again during the second half. (I need more practice!)

The chilling seemed to help a lot this time, as the finished lattice crust looked much more evenly woven. (And it even seemed puffier this time!)

I also made this pie a third time, but forgot to take pictures of it so I can't say if it came out better or not. But I will say that practicing helps, although I think I'll still need to make this a few more times before I feel like I can make it without the tutorial! :)

Happy Baking!

lattice apple pie with braided crust

If you know me, you'll know that one of my favorite things to make is apple pie. I've made it for Christmas and Thanksgiving, I've made mini ones and Hello Kitty ones. And lately I've been inspired by the gorgeous pies by The Kitchen McCabe, especially the latticed ones, so I decided to try making a lattice pie myself!

I started by making my favorite all-butter pie crust (recipe in my book, The Hello Kitty Baking Book!). One recipe makes a bottom and a top crust, so after rolling out my bottom crust and pressing it in my pie pan, I rolled out the top crust and then used a pastry wheel to cut out strips for my lattice.

After adding my fresh apple filling (recipe also in my book!), I used the strips to form my lattice shape. Two things I learned from this: a) this takes a lot of patience, and b) the strips need to be chilled first! But I was so eager to make my lattice that I was impatient (back to point a) and didn't want to wait for the dough to chill! Lesson learned, because my lattice came out very wobbly looking and not so neat.

But, I continued on anyway. With the last bit of the strips, I braided them as evenly as I could, and placed the braid around the edge of my pie, making sure to press down firmly to seal it to the crust below.

Then I brushed it with egg wash, sprinkled on some sanding sugar, and baked it until golden brown (350F for 45-50 minutes).

Even though my lattice came out so wonky, I still thought it looked rather pretty. I learned my lesson though (must chill dough first!) and can't wait to try it out again!

Enjoy!

apple tart with olive oil crust

I follow Amanda Hesser on Instagram (love her!), and about a year ago I was drooling over a post of a pie that she made, which had a press-in crust made with olive oil instead of butter. I was intrigued because it sounded so simple and yet looked so fancy! So I looked it up, and while the original recipe was for a peach tart, the comments suggested that the apple version was just as good. I just had to try it!

The crust was super duper simple, as promised, and actually the part that took the longest was peeling, cutting, and arranging the apples!

Instead of a top crust, the recipe uses a topping of sugar, flour, and butter (to which I also added some cinnamon), which is just sprinkled over the top. So easy!

When it came out of the oven, bubbling and delicious-smelling, it was hard to resist cutting into it right away!

After the tart had (finally cooled) and we were able to dig in, it was definitely pretty tasty. And even though I prefer a traditional pie crust (this crust was more of a crumbly/sandy crust rather than a crunchy flakey crust), I would definitely make it again especially given that it was super quick and easy.

Enjoy!

fall leaf cutout apple pie

It's become tradition that I make apple pie for Thanksgiving (and Christmas!), so last year for Thanksgiving I decided to decorate my apple pie with leaf-shaped pie crust cutouts! I used this awesome leaf cookie cutter from Cookie Cutter Kingdom, and it worked out perfectly! (Note: I also used the same cutter to make these leaf cookies decorated with royal icing!)

After making my favorite all-butter pie crust (recipe in my book, The Hello Kitty Baking Book!), I divided the dough in half and shaped each into a disc, then wrapped them in plastic wrap and let them rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. Then I rolled them out to about 1/8" thick, and fit the first half into the bottom of my pie dish.

With the second half, I used the leaf cookie cutter to cut out my leaf shapes.

Then I placed the prepped pie dish and leaf cutouts in the fridge while I made the filling.

After peeling, cutting, and mixing my fresh apple filling (recipe also in my book!), I poured it into my chilled pie dish.

Next I used the leaf cutouts to decorate the top of my pie. I like to arrange them in a shingled pattern, but you could just throw them on randomly as well.

The leaf cutouts served two purposes, a) to add a pretty decorative touch to the pie, and b) the spaces between the cutouts serve as vents to let the steam out of the pie, this way you don't get a soggy pie!

After placing my final two cutouts in the center of the pie, it was almost ready to bake!

But before I put the pie in the oven, I applied a light coating of egg wash and sprinkled on some sanding sugar to give it some shine.

I baked it at 425F for 15 minutes to get the beginnings of a golden crust, and then turned the heat down to 350F and baked it for another 40-45 minutes.

And there you go, a beautiful fall leaf cutout apple pie - perfect for Thanksgiving or any other fall gathering or event! Enjoy!

mini apple pies

My favorite part about pie is the crust. Buttery, flakey, deliciously luscious pie crust. That said, my favorite thing about mini pies is that you get a) you get one all to yourself, and b) you get to eat more pie crust than you would with a regular slice of pie!

These mini pies use the same recipe as my regular apple pie, except you make half the recipe and end up with six individual pies instead of one big one. (Or, I suppose you could keep the recipe the same and end up with twelve individual pies, but I only have six mini tart tins so I went with half the recipe). 

Once your dough is made, formed into a disc, and has chilled in the fridge for at least half an hour, divide the disc into six equal pieces. Then roll out each one and carefully fit them into six individual mini tart tins.

Once the edges are trimmed, place your tart tins on a baking sheet. Be sure to keep the excess dough that was trimmed - form it into a disc, wrap it in plastic wrap again, and put it back in the fridge.

Then assemble your fresh apple filling and divide it evenly into each dough-lined tart tin.

Note that I have diced the apples for the mini pies, but you could also keep the apples in slices as you would for a single pie.

Now you can bring out that disc of excess dough that you put in the fridge earlier. Roll it out into a rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick, and use a knife or a pizza cutter (I used a fluted pastry wheel) to cut out your lattice strips.

Arrange your strips (I like to use four on each mini pie) onto each pie in a decorative way, trimming any excess, and make sure to press the ends into the edges of the tart tins.

Then brush the tops with egg wash, sprinkle on some sanding sugar, and bake them at 350F for about 45 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

Mmmmmmmmm.

These mini pies are perfect to bring to picnics and BBQs because they are easy to transport, don't require plates and forks (you can pick them up with your hands and eat them!), and can be made the morning of! You could also make them the night before, but the crust won't be quite as crisp.

Enjoy!