For this pie unit we used multiple ways of creating and baking pies. Throughout this process we ran into some problems but ultimately the pies came out good. To create the pie dough we mixed all of the ingredients together in a mixer until it reached its doughy state. Then we took the dough out of the mixer and put it on top of a sheet of plastic wrap and then covered the dough with another sheet of plastic wrap. We then started to roll out the dough with a rolling pin. This is where I ran into some problems because throughout the rolling process I would run into problems such as the shape of the dough not being correct, I would find myself rolling a square instead of a perfect circle. The problem I would run into is the dough cracking or becoming too thin. Although I ran into problems, my dough did come out well. I then proceeded to put the dough into a pie dish which was a problem on its own. I would put it in and have issues portioning it out. I would have spots that were either too thick or too thin. Once the dough was rolled out I portioned out the pumpkin mix. When we poured in the pumpkin mix it was very liquidly and not that pleasant to look at. But when the pie was done it looked good and tasted good.

Nicholas Carozza

In the pie unit we learned how to make different forms of pie. We made a free form pie with apple filling called a galette, and then we made a pumpkin pie in a tin. We used the same dough for both in order to make the pie crust. For the crust we used the biscuit method of cutting the butter into the flour and adding the wet ingredients after. A new ingredient we used in this unit was Crisco, an animal fat. A challenge I was faced in this unit was creating my galette. This was because my dough was continuously ripping when I was wrapping it around the apple filling. Even though it did not look as appetizing as the pumpkin pie, the apple galette was much tastier than the pumpkin pie. I enjoyed it enough that I used the recipe for the filling, and interpreted it a little in order to make an apple crisp.
-Meg M

During the pie unit we made apple pie, pumpkin pie, and pinwheel cookies. For the apple pie we learned how to roll the dough in between Saran wrap so that the delicate thin dough wouldn't stick to the rolling pin. We also learned to roll from the center, out so that all the dough is the same thickness. When the dough was all rolled out we put in the apples we sautéed with brown sugar and folded the dough so that it was mostly covering the apples inside. For the pumpkin pie we used a pie tin so that the pie would look more aesthetically pleasing. Before we poured the pumpkin filing into the pie tin we fluted the edges so it would look pretty. And for the pin wheel cookies we rolled out the pie dough, sprinkled cinnamon on it, and then rolled them up.
Lauren R

The most current unit we completed was the pie unit where we created 2 different types of pies and pop tarts. To make all of these recipes, we used the same pie crust recipe which used the biscuit method by adding the butter to the flour mixture. This crust was then stored in the fridge overnight. Our class made apple pie first and then pumpkin pie. The apple pie filling was made with sliced apples, cinnamon sugar, and lemon juice, and was then sauteed lightly in a pan. We then put the filling in the middle of the dough and folded the extra over. The pumpkin pie had a different filling then was more of a liquid when put into the oven. The filling was made with a cream base and was poured into tins with the crust placed on the insides. This pie was harder to form since it required fluting the edges. Unfortunately, I didn't trim the access dough, so in the oven the ended came off of the in. The last pastry we made in this unit was the pop tart. This was much simpler since we just had to cut out the pir crust and fill with peanut butter and chocolate.
-Emily C

In the Pie unit, we made a lot of yummy stuff- from pumpkin pie to pinwheel cookies, but my favorite was the apple gallette. It was so yummy and looked really good!

We made the crust first, which was an easy one- easy to make, easy to bake, as I liked to say. We used the biscuit method to cut butter and shortening, then adding cold water into the mix after everything was cut down enough. We rolled the dough out and cut it into four parts for all of us.

The filling was apples cut up with cinnamon, sugar and nutmeg, sauteed to warm, gooey perfection and placed that into the center of the rolled out pie dough, bring the edges up to pleat it around the edges and only showing a small part of the apple filling.

We baked it and waited impatiently for them to come out, and once they did, we ate all of ours in a flash!

I wanted to wait for a bit before I ate mine, but I had gone to get something during lunch and one of my friends took it and ate it all! Now I'm going to make it again for Thanksgiving, so I'm excited for that!

Sarah H.

For the pie unit, we made two types of pies: an apple pie and pumpkin pie. These were two different types of pies that are made. The apple pie was a free-form pie that had apple slices in it while the pumpkin pie filling was a purée. To make the pie crust, we were introduced to a new ingredient which is Crisco - which is a vegetable shortening. It is similar to butter, but it makes the pie crust flakier than using just butter. We had to cut in the Crisco just like the butter before adding in the other ingredients. We also learned a new way to roll out dough using two sheets of saran wrap. We would place the dough inside the saran wrap and then roll the dough in between the two sheets of saran. This prevented the dough from sticking to the rolling pin and it decreased the amount of excess flour that we needed to roll out the dough. Aside from making pies, we used the pie crust to make poptarts. We used the same pie crust recipe, but we rolled out the dough into two rectangles and put the filling in between the two pieces of dough. Making poptarts allowed us to be able to use the pie crust in different ways besidesusing it just for pies.

~Maryyam A.

In this unit we made apple pies, pumpkin pies, turnover cookies, and pinwheel cookies.

All four variations came from the same pie crust, but the fillings were different.

The apple pie was filled with apples that were sliced and sauteed with cinnamon, sugar, and nutmeg. The filling was placed in the center of the pie crust, rolled out to be a circle, and then it was folded up until only a little apple was exposed and cinnamon sugar was sprinkled on top.

The pumpkin pie was made to look more traditional-- the filling was made with pumpkin puree and it was poured into the center of the pie crust, which was in a miniature pie tin. For decoration, the edge of the pie crust was fluted, a method that involved twisting your fingers on the pie dough in order to create a wavy pattern. These came out nicely, although my fluting could have been more even.

The turnover cookies and pinwheel cookies were alternatives to using pie crust. The turnovers were miniature pop tarts, and were made by rolling a pie crust thin, cutting into circles with a pastry cutter, filling with a garnish, (in this case chocolate chips and peanut butter) brushing the edges with egg wash, and folding them into half circles to look like dumplings. The turnovers, while tiny and time-consuming, were a very good dish in terms of presentation.

The pinwheel cookies were almost like small cinnamon buns. The crust was rolled out into a strip, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, rolled back into a log, and cut into circles. The process was very simple, but these also made a good presentation piece as they came out golden brown with a swirl of cinnamon sugar in the middle.

Lilly F.

This unit was the Pie unit. In the pie unit we made an apple galette, pumpkin pie, and pinwheel cookies and pop tarts. All of these recipes used pie crust. We did different thing to the pie crust for each recipe. For the apple galette we rolled out the pie dough making sure it was an even thickness. For this recipe it didn't matter if it was a perfect circle as much because it was a free form pie and did not have to be even. For the pumpkin pie it made it easier, and was more important if the pie dough was rolled out into an even circle. We then put the pie the pie tin and fluted the edges of the pie for aesthetics. For the pop tart recipe we rolled it into more of a rectangular shape. Then folded it over in half after putting the filling in. Overall this unit went pretty smoothly for our Group.

-Clara W.

Laken Hughes
Pie Blog
In the pie unit we make apple pie fold overs, pumpkin pie, pop tarts and pin wheel cookies. When making the pie crust you had to cut the butter into the four. We’ve done this before in class so I thought that as a group it progressively became easier. For the apple filling, we cut up all the apples and then mixed together the cinnamon and other ingredients. The problem that we can into when making the filling was we didn’t use that large of a pan so it took longer for them to become cooked all the way through and we had to stir very carefully so they didn’t spill out. When we rolled out the pie crust dough we had to roll it between to two pieces of saran wrap to create a circle shape. When making the pumpkin pie we had to flout the crust, so after placing the dough in the tin we pinched the dough so that in the end it almost looked like a sun. For the pop tarts, the filling that I used was the caramel squares for one and chocolate chips and marshmallows in the other. In both pop tarts the ingredients melted but the puff kept its shape. For the pin wheel cookies we just rolled out our dough and then sprinkled cinnamon and sugar and then rolled the dough into a long log and cut up the log then baked them. I enjoyed this unit because I liked learning about all the different things that you can do with pie crust, it wasn’t an easy process but I had a lot of fun doing it.

In this unit, we made various types of pies. The first recipe we made was an apple galette. After that we made pumpkin pies, and then we made pinwheel cookies using pie crust. In all of these recipes we had to make pie crust and roll it out. We needed to learn the techniques of rolling out the dough so that it was the correct thickness and the shape was right. For the apple galette we rolled the pie crust into a circle by rolling from the center, out, and then making quarter turns after each roll. This created a nearly perfect circle. We then put our sliced apples coated in cinnamon in the center of the dough, and wrapped the dough up around it. For the pumpkin pie, we made a more traditional looking pie. We rolled out the dough into a circle the same way, and then put it into a pie tin. We fluted the edges for aesthetic appeal, and then poured the pumpkin filling in. For the pinwheel cookies, we rolled the pie crust into more of an oval shape and then cut it into strips. We coated each strip in egg and sprinkled them with cinnamon and sugar. We then rolled them up into little pinwheels and baked them. All of our recipes this unit turned out pretty well.

-Veronica E.

In our unit of pies, our group was very productive and worked together efficiently. We made apple and pumpkin pies, as well as mini pop tarts using the pie crust dough. To make our dough it was essential to chop the butter into small cubes before mixing in into the flour, sugar and salt mix. We than added cold water, witch prepared the dough we then had to knead and roll into a circular shape using rolling pins. At first it was hard to evenly spread the dough so that it wasn't more or less thick or thin in different places. We than had to refrigerate our dough, meaning that the next class period we had to thaw the dough until it was soft again. When cutting our apple pieces for the apple pie filling, we skinned and cored each apple and than chopped then into thin wedges. Then we caramelized then with butter, sugar, and lemon juice. After filling the pie crust we folded in each corner creating an appealing appearance. When making the mini pop tarts, my group had trouble shaping the dough into the correct shape, but with Erin's help, we all ended up with perfect rectangles. Then each of us added our own garnishes to fill them and based the inside with egg-wash so that the dough will stick together and stay closed. They turned out great.
Alex J.

The last unit that we finished was the pie unit. First we made galettes. The way that we did this was we added flour and sugar into a mixing bowl. We then added the cut butter into the flour and sugar mixture. When the butter was evenly cut, we added the lard. Then when that is evenly combined the water was mixed in. After the pie dough was done we put that in the refrigerator to cool. We had to peel, cut and core apples. When the apples were all cut up we put them into a mixing bowl and tossed them with lemon juice and brown sugar. Finally we put the apples into a skillet and then cooked them off until they were soft. When the apples were soft we added flour and cinnamon. Then finally when everything was made we rolled out the chilled pie dough, and distributed the apple filling onto the dough. Then the dough was folded over and the mini galettes were ready to be baked. To make our pumpkin pie we had to crimp the edges of the crust before at put the pumpkin filling in. Then we made pop tarts. We took out the pie dough that we made the day prior and then rolled it out and added our filling and then baked them.



                   

- Jessica Longi

Our class just finished the cookie unit where we learned how to make classic chocolate chip cookies, healthy chocolate chip cookies, specialty cookies, and bar cookies.
After baking then tasting both the chocolate chip cookies using the original Toll House recipe and the healthier chocolate chip cookies, I learned that healthy versions of recipes can be just as good- if not better- than the original. We substituted egg whites for whole eggs and cut down on the amount of butter and chocolate chips added. I loved the taste of the healthy cookies and knowing how much better they were for you than the originals made them even better!
Another of my favorite recipes we made during this unit was the snickerdoodle specialty cookies my group chose to make. We found a recipe online and modified it by following the given directions for the dough then inserting a caramel piece into the middle of the cookie so that it would melt while in the oven. During the process of creating these cookies, we learned how to roll the balls of dough in the cinnamon sugar mixture before placing them on the cookie sheet and how to recognize that snickerdoodles are done baking once cracks can be seen on the face-up side of the cookie. Our end product was delicious!
When my group made our Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip biscotti, we ran into a time issue. Biscotti must be cooked once for about 25 minutes, taken out and cut, then cooked again for another 8 minutes or so, but because of the length of the class period and the fact that we put our biscotti in later than planned; they did not get the full time to cook. Our biscotti were only in the oven for the first 25 minute session. We decided to take the cookies out and eat them as they were because they were cooked all the way through, just not as hard as the traditional biscotti. The cookies were still yummy!
I thoroughly enjoyed this cookie unit because of all the units we have completed, I am most likely to make cookies at home. Learning these new recipes will add some variation to what I normally bake. (Marissa T)