Making Thanksgiving Pies
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all have a very safe and enjoyable holiday!
I love baking pies and for years it's been my own Thanksgiving tradition to bake pies for members of my staff at the farm. I offer a choice of several kinds and then I spend two to three days preparing the dough and baking each pie from scratch. Last weekend, I made the pâte brisés, so they were ready to roll into pie crusts. And then earlier this week, I, along with a small group of helpers, mixed all the fillings and baked a total of 32 pies and tarts - maple bourbon pumpkin pie, pumpkin honey molasses pie, pecan pie, and chocolate pecan tart.
I hope you saw photos on my Instagram page @marthastewart48. Here are more, enjoy.
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- Here I am rolling out one of the pâte brisée discs. When rolling, make sure there are no cracks. To fit a nine-inch pie plate, roll out an 11-inch round that’s about 1/8-inch thick. I have been making this pâte brisée for many years and have perfected this recipe. It calls for two-and-a-half cups all-purpose flour, one teaspoon kosher salt, one teaspoon granulated sugar, two sticks unsalted butter, and a quarter to a half cup of ice water.
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- Here are several chilled pâte brisée discs. Pâte brisée is the French version of classic pie or tart pastry. It is a versatile all-butter dough for both sweet and savory recipes—from apple pie to quiche.
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- While I roll out the doughs, Enma gathers all the necessary tart pans and pie plates.
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- Look closely – one is clearly a Martha Stewart pie plate.
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- To keep everything organized, I write down all the ingredients and amounts for every kind of pie on my list and then adjust the amounts for the number of each pie I need to make.
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- My productive hens made sure I had enough fresh eggs for all my pies. Eggs are picked every day and brought to the house at 3:30pm sharp.
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- As part of the preparations, Matt chops several bags of pecans for the pecan pies and the chocolate pecan tarts.
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- Matt also selects all the “perfect” pecan halves for the pecan pie tops.
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- Semi sweet chocolates are measured and laid out for the chocolate pecan tarts.
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- Also for the chocolate pecan tarts – corn syrup. I use a strainer held over the pot with wooden spoons and then turn the bottles upside down to empty – frees up my hands to do other things.
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- Because I am making several different kinds of pies all at the same time, it is crucial that everything be labeled as it’s mixed and cooked.
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- I rolled all 32 pie and tart crusts myself – it’s fun and good exercise.
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- After pressing the dough into the plate, using kitchen shears trim the edge to one inch over and fold under, so it looks neat and tidy. Save the scraps for the decorations. Then put the plate into the fridge to chill.
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- I told my baking team it isn’t worth all the work if the pie crust isn’t done right. I taught Matt how to crimp the pie crust, so it is well defined. Crimping is not only decorative, but if done properly, it makes it less likely the sides of the pie will fall or shrink during baking.
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- Here’s Matt pouring in the pumpkin for the maple bourbon pumpkin pies. I need enough filling for at least eight.
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- As the fillings are made, the stainless steel bowls are covered and accurately labeled.
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- For the pumpkin, the filling is poured carefully into the chilled pie crust. I asked Matt to hold the crust on the edge of the metal bowl to prevent unnecessary drips. I am using my square ladle – it’s part of my kitchen tool set at my shop on Amazon.
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- Enma brushes the crusts with an egg and cream wash – just enough to moisten for a simple glazed finish.
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- These are all lined up and ready to put into the oven.
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- Find lots of holiday recipes in ENTERTAINING from Clarkson Potter. My very first book is now re-released for all of you to enjoy. It includes all 300 recipes and 450 full color photos from the original version.
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- These maple bourbon pumpkin pies will bake for about 45-minutes to an hour until the custard is firm and the top is glossy and golden brown. Unfortunately, I had to leave while the pies were still baking.
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- I also make lots of small decorations for the pies. The decorations are cut from the scraps of dough and baked separately.
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- I make seasonal appropriate decorations, such as leaves.
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- Small cookie cutters are perfect to use for these decorations.
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- Here are the pecan pies in the oven – they look great. They’re almost ready.
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- These are the chocolate pecan tarts also ready to go into the oven – every member of the staff is required to bring the pie plate back after enjoying their dessert.
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- This is a pumpkin honey molasses pie.
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- Here’s one of the maple bourbon pumpkin pies.
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- Here’s a chocolate pecan tart.
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- And a traditional pecan pie. The team works in an assembly line fashion to get all the pies ready on time. Once cooked, they are left to cool – on the counter, on the stovetop, near the sink – anywhere there is room.
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- After they are all done and slightly cooled, the pies are packed in boxes and brought outside for “pick up.”
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- All these pies were ready on time. I am always so happy to make pies for my hardworking staff. I hope you are all having a wonderful time preparing for today’s big feast. Enjoy.
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