Cherry Pie Pincushion

My mom hosted a craft night last night, where we learned how to make these cute cherry pie pincushions.  She also had these old, metal mini-bundt pans that we could use.

The basic steps to making these are to 1) cut a circle out of fabric with cherries on it, 2) do a running stitch all the way around the circle and cinch it up, 3) stuff the fabric with as much or as little stuffing as you would like and stitch everything closed 4) glue the pincushion into your pan or cup, 5) glue the lattice strips across the top and into the sides of the cup, and 6) glue the rikrak around the pan and the button over your seams.

Isn't it cute?!  It was seriously not that hard.  Here's a closer view of the pan on the bottom:

I love my little cherry pie, and can't wait to use it while I am making my kitchen curtains this weekend!!

Marshmallow Peppermint Pie

This is one of my husband's favorite pies.  I made it for the first time last week, and it was deliciously light and fluffy.  This pie combines many of my favorites: peppermint, marshmallow, whipped cream, and chocolate cookies.  It's best if you make it a day ahead and let the flavors fuse together overnight.

Marshmallow Peppermint Pie

1 pint whipping cream

4 candy canes, crushed

4 c. mini marshmallows

For the crust:

1 package chocolate Nabisco wafers, crushed

4 T. melted butter

             OR

1 store-bought Oreo crust

Whip the cream until hard peaks form.  Add the crushed candy canes; fold in the marshmallows.  If you are making the crust, combine the wafers and butter.  Press the crumbs into the pie pan.  

Pour the whipped cream mixture into the crust.  If you made the crust, sprinkle the remaining crumbs on top.  Refrigerate the pie until ready to serve, preferably the next day.  The peppermint candy will soften and the flavor will spread into the whipped cream.  Makes one pie.

Homemade Apple Pie

I learned how to make homemade pie this week at one of my mom's ward's Relief Society activities.  This was my first pie from scratch, and I was pleasantly surprised at how (relatively) easy it was!  Here's the recipe we used for the crust:

Pie Crust

2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

2/3 c. Butter-flavored Crisco

1/4 c. cold water

First, combine the flour and salt.  Then, cut in the shortening with either your hands or a pastry blender.  I found that using my hands was much faster and easier.  Once all the flour is mixed in and the shortening is in tiny balls, slowly add the water and stir in with a fork.  Don't mix it too much or the crust will get chewy.  Divide the dough evenly into two balls. 

The crust is ready to roll out!  Try to keep the edges from splitting too much by continually pressing the cracks back together.  Put the rolled out crust into the bottom of your pie pan.  Be very gentle and make sure not to stretch the crust out.  Trim the edges by running a knife around the edge of the pie pan.  Now you are ready for the filling!

The filling was also easier than I expected.  Here's what you need:

Apple Pie Filling

Cored, sliced, and peeled apples (We used tart apples)

Cinnamon

Flour

Sugar

The whole thing was pretty inexact.  We just filled the bottom pie crust with apples and sprinkled a bit of each of the other ingredients on top.  You don't need a ton of cinnamon, flour, or sugar.  Make sure you put more apples than you think in, because they will shrink when you bake the pie.

Now, roll out the other dough ball for the top crust.  Lay it over the top, trim the edges, pinch the edges together, and cut some vent holes into the top.  You can get creative with this bit.  I did a star pattern.  You can also use the extra pieces of crust to make little shapes for the top.  My mom did a berry and leaf pattern.

For the final touch, brush the top of the pie with milk and sprinkle raw cane sugar all over.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until you can see the filling bubbling and the crust is brown.

We ate ours with some vanilla bean ice cream, and it was really tasty!