Baking Holiday Pies

A day of pie baking helped my friend Sara Smith make fabulous pies for the holidays.

Some people have a penchant for baking. Others have a totally different attitude toward baking and avoid it completely—not even the holidays can persuade them to step into the kitchen. My friend Sara Smith belongs to the latter category, having baked only one pie in her life (and that was during a high school home economics class).

Last year, I invited Sara for a visit and a primer in the finer points of pie baking. Longtime food contributor to "Recipes" Tracey Seaman joined the group and shared her helpful advice on making great piecrust. Tracey and I explained how to prepare a basic, all-purpose piecrust using both a hand-blended technique and a food processor. We then demonstrated for Sara some different methods for embellishing the edges of a completed piecrust. Finally, Sara and I each made a pie from my recipe collection, one was an acorn squash-custard pie, the other was a pumpkin-molasses pie.

RECIPES
How to Make Homemade Pastry
Pastry dough is the medium for all types of pies and tarts, both sweet and savory.

Acorn Squash Custard Pie
Acorn squash gives a superb color to this unique pie.

Sugar Pumpkin Molasses Pie
This classic pumpkin pie caps off the Thanksgiving feast.

SPECIAL THANKS
Sara Smith
Tracey Seaman, Professional chef & Contributor to "Recipes"

RECOMMENDED READING
Better Homes and Gardens®, "Better Homes and Gardens"® New Cook Book (12th ed.)