Easy Sweet Pastry Pies

The smell of a pie baking in the kitchen immediately gives you the feelings of comfort and joy.

A spiced plum, port and apple pie have knocked the classic meat pie off its perch, beating out a record 4,400 entries to take out the coveted title of the country's top pie in the 2011 Bakels New Zealand Supreme Pie Awards.

Check it out in the above link.

Shortcrust pastry is the easiest type of pastry to make for pies.

Sweet filling options may contain cottage cheese, or fruits like apple, plums or various berries like boysenberry, blackberries, blueberries or even rhubarb (one of my favorites).

225 grams (8 oz) sweet shortcrust pastry (Recipe below)

30 grams (1 oz) butter, melted

milk or water

2 teaspoons sugar

FILLING

4 to 6 granny smith apples

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons standard plain flour

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

APPLE FILLING: Peel, core and slice the apples.

Combine sugar, flour and cloves.

Toss apples in this mixture.

On a lightly floured board roll out pastry slightly larger than a 20 cm (8 in) pie plate.

Cut two 2.5 cm (1in) wide strips long enough to go around the edge of the pie plate.

Brush with water.

Spoon apple filling into the centre of pie plate.

Pour butter over the filling.

Cover with remaining pastry.

Press edges firmly together to seal.

Cut steam holes in the centre of the pastry.

Trim and crimp edges.

Decorate pie with any pastry trimmings.

Brush lightly with milk or water.

Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 200c (400F) for 25 minutes or until pastry is golden.

Test with a skewer if the apple is cooked.

If not, reduce oven temperature to 180c (350F) and cook until apple is tender.

Serves 6

Having a recipe book for making pies is a great idea, but the hardest part is the pastry, once you have learnt how to master that it is easy to make a pie or tart if you have fruit available, but then again you can always buy the pastry crust which isn't as nice, I don't think, not once you have had home-made..

You can try making a sweet pastry pie from just about any fruit, have it made for summer dessert by cooling the crust and adding jellies, custard, fruit tinned or fresh and that all important ingredient whipped cream, so many ways of making a sweet pie, it is never ending, or just a hot apple pie or something I like very much is Rhubarb and Apple little pies with a crisp crumble on the top of them, with ice cream, yummy.

1 cup standard plain flour, 250 grams (4 oz)

85 grams ( 3 oz) butter

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon water

METHOD:

Sift flour. Cut in butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Stir in sugar. Add egg yolk and water.

Mix to a stiff dough.

Chill for 30 mins before using.

Use as required for sweet pies and tarts.

makes about 400 grams ( 14 -16 ozs, 1 lb).