Apple Pie Tips

I really wanted to celebrate Pi Day this year by baking a pie, but I ended up having to wait until Saturday morning. The last time I made an apple pie was for thanksgiving and it didn't turn out just the way I wanted. The problem is that the apples become so juicy that the pie is a puddle of apple juice! None of the recipes I've seen ever gave any good tips on how prevent this. I figured out a couple tips that will keep apple pies from becoming too soggy.

1. Pre-bake the bottom crust for 8 minutes at 350 degrees.

2. Instead of mixing the sugar with the cinnamon and other ingredients, add the sugar to the apples first and let them sit while you prepare the crust. When all the juice seeps out of the apples drain a little of it away. After that, add the cinnamon and other spices. Don't drain out all the juice though, you don't want it to be dry! Just enough to keep it from becoming a puddle of apple juice when you slice the finished pie.

3. Always add a couple tablespoons of corn starch to the apple mixture to help make the juice more saucy.

That's all I've got! Maybe one day I will try to tackle making my own crust again from scratch. I gave up on pie crusts a while ago because I didn't have a food processor to make the dough the right consistency. A few weeks ago, however, I was gifted a blender/food processor combo machine from a friend who never got any use out of it. Maybe then I can add some little tips for crust making.