Autumns Favorite Pie With Plums Food

EASY AS PLUM PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Place one pie crust into a 9"pie dish.
• Wash plums, do not peel.
• Cut plums in half remove pit, then into quarters.
• Arrange plums in the pie crust.
• Mix together the dry ingredients, then sprinkle over the plums.
• Dot with the butter.
• Place top crust over plums, trim crust edges with enough to turn under, then crimp crust edge.
• Cut about 6 1" slits into the top of the pie.
• Bake at 450 degrees for 12 minutes, reduce heat to 325 degrees, bake 25 minutes longer or until plums are tender.
• Cool, serve warm or cold.

FAVORITE PLUM PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Place plums into a bowl and stir in sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and almond extract with a rubber spatula. Spoon into a prepared pie shell.
• Bake in the preheated oven until bubbly and crust is golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

LATTICE TOP APPLE PLUM SKILLET PIE

Steps:

• For the crust: Place the butter in the freezer while you measure the dry ingredients. Place the water over ice (you will drain it later) or into the freezer to chill.
• Stir together the flours, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Use the coarse side of a box grater to grate the butter all over the flour. Toss together with your fingers, pinching to break some of the butter into smaller bits and to coat with flour, working quickly to keep the butter cold. Continue rubbing until you have some pea-sized pieces of butter, with some slightly larger knobs. Add the vinegar, drain the water (if over ice) and add, a few tablespoons at a time, stirring with a fork to make a shaggy dough that mostly holds together (a food processor works well for this, too!). Squeeze the dough to form a ball, adding more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to hold it together if needed.
• Divide the dough in half and place each half on a generous sheet of plastic wrap. Sprinkle lightly with water if needed (if still dry and crumbly). Use the edges of the plastic wrap to pull and press the dough into a nice round disk and wrap tightly. Repeat with the remaining dough. If using right away, chill the dough in the refrigerator at least 1 hour. Otherwise, refrigerate up to 4 days or freeze up to 1 month.
• For the filling: Toss together the plums, apples, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl and mix well. Butter a cast-iron (or other oven-proof) skillet generously with butter and transfer the filling to the skillet, taking care to scrape any juices into the pan. Dot the top of the fruit with small pieces of the butter. Set aside (or refrigerate for up to 1 hour while you prepare the dough; don't leave too long since the lemon can react with the cast iron).
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Remove one disk of the dough from the fridge and roll on a lightly floured surface, dusting with flour as needed to prevent sticking. Roll the dough into an 1/8-inch-thick round. Make sure the dough isn't sticking to the surface, then use a knife, pizza cutter or pastry scraper to cut the dough into 10 thick strips, each about 1 1/2 inches wide.
• Arrange the strips over the fruit in a crosshatch pattern: First, lay 3 strips across the top of the pie in the same direction. Pull the middle strip back slightly, then overlap with a strip going the opposite direction. Repeat, lifting the strips as needed to weave the perpendicular strip up and over. (The rye flour makes the dough flaky but delicate, so once the strips are on the fruit, don't fuss with them much. Don't worry if anything tears-you can press it together and use the egg wash to repair later.) Weave any extra dough around the outside rim of the skillet and press together, using cookie cutters or your fingers to make a design.
• Whisk together the beaten egg and cream. Brush the egg wash all over the top, using it to help repair any rips or tears. Sprinkle lightly with sugar. Bake the skillet pie for about 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 250 degrees F and continue to bake until the filling is bubbly and the crust is evenly golden brown, another 40 to 50 minutes. Cool slightly before serving, or cool completely. Cut into eight pieces. Spoon into shallow bowls and serve with ice cream.

AUTUMN SURPRISE PIE

Steps:

• Mix the first 4 ingredients; cut in butter until crumbly. Mix milk and vinegar; add gradually to crumb mixture, tossing with a fork until dough holds together when pressed. Divide dough into 2 portions, 1 slightly larger than the other. Shape each into a disk; cover and refrigerate 1 hour or overnight., Preheat oven to 425°. On a lightly floured surface, roll larger portion of dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a greased 9-in. pie plate. Trim crust even with rim. Refrigerate while preparing filling., Mix the first 5 filling ingredients. Place apples, pears and raisins in a large bowl. Add sugar mixture and extract; toss to combine. Spoon into crust., Roll out remaining dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; cut into 3/4-in.-wide strips. Arrange over filling in a lattice pattern. Trim and seal strips to edge of bottom crust; flute edge. Brush lattice with beaten egg. Sprinkle with coarse sugar., Bake pie on a lower oven rack 15 minutes. Reduce oven setting to 350°. Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 30-35 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.