Grandpappy's Basic Recipes - Pies and Cobblers - by Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E.

Grandpappy's Basic Recipes

A Collection of
Easy Pie and Cobbler Recipes

Decorative Pie Crust Patterns To make decorative pie crust edges, you may use the following:
Use a spoon to produce a scalloped edge.
Use a fork to produce a crosshatch or herringbone pattern.
Use an old-fashioned can opener to produce a series of sharp points around the outside edge.
Instead of a solid top crust, you can places strips of dough 3/4 inch wide and about 1 inch apart across the top of the pie in a criss-cross pattern.

9-Inch Pie Crust

2 cups flour	3/4 tsp. salt
2/3 cup shortening or oil or lard	4 to 6 tbsp. ice cold water (or cold milk)

Sift flour and salt together and cut in shortening. Add water gradually until mixture will hold together. Divide dough in half. Roll both pieces on a floured board to the desired size. Line a 9” (or 10") pie pan with one piece of dough being careful NOT to stretch the dough.
After filling the lower pie crust with the desired filling according to the pie recipe you are using, dampen the edges of the lower crust with a little cold water. Cut slits in the remaining piece of dough with a sharp knife to allow steam to escape during baking. Place the remaining piece of dough over the filled pie. Press the edges of the two pieces of dough together using a fork or your fingers. Flute the edges if desired. Bake the pie according to the directions in your pie recipe.
Optional: Instead of rolling the dough into two circles, gather one-half the dough for the bottom crust and put it into a pie pan. Then press the dough evenly to the sides of pie pan first and then to the bottom of the pan.
Optional: You may add two tablespoons of granulated sugar at the same time you add the salt in the above recipe.
Note: Some pie recipes require the lower pie crust to be lightly browned for about 10 minutes in a 450°F oven before adding the pie filling.
Note: Using lard instead of shortening or oil will yield a superior quality pie crust.

Rich Southern Pastry Increase shortening in above recipe to 1 cup. If you chill the dough before rolling it will make the pastry easier to handle.

Easy Pie Crust

1.5 cups flour	1 tbsp. sugar	3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup oil	2 tbsp. cold milk (or cold water)

Put the flour, sugar, and salt into a pie pan and mix well.
In a separate cup, mix the oil and milk together until creamy. The pour the liquid into the flour mixture inside the pie pan. Mix together until crumbly. Press mixture evenly to the sides of pie pan first and then to the bottom of the pan. Fill and bake according to pie recipe instructions.

Graham Cracker Pie Crust

1 cup wheat flour	1 tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 cup butter	1/2 tsp. salt

Preparation: Mix all the above ingredients to form a soft dough. Press dough mixture into the bottom of a pie pan.
Cook: Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Then follow the appropriate pie recipe instructions.

Fruit Preserves Pie (Using One 10-inch Pizza Pan)

1 Rich Southern Pastry (See Recipe Above)

1 cup of fruit preserves

Fruit Preserves Options: Apple, Pear, Peach, Cherry, Strawberry, Blueberry, Raspberry, or Blackberry Preserves (or Jelly).
Preparation: Follow the above "Rich Southern Pastry" recipe. Roll all of the pastry dough into one 10-inch round flat circle and place it on a 10-inch pizza pan. The outer edges of the circle should be a little thicker than the rest of the dough.
Cook: Bake in 375°F oven for 6 minutes. Remove from oven. Spread the contents of one cup of fruit preserves evenly over the flat pie crust. Bake an additional 4 to 6 minutes until underside of crust is golden brown.

Berry or Fruit Pie

4 cups berries	1.5 tbsp. lemon juice	1 pie crust
1 cup sugar	2 tbsp. flour	1/8 tsp. salt

Preparation: Mix sugar, flour, and salt. Add lemon juice. Add berries. Pour mixture into pie crust. Cover with top crust.
Cook: Bake at 450°F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F and bake 20 to 30 minutes longer.
Blueberry, Huckleberry: Follow above recipe.
Blackberry: 3 cups berries. Follow above recipe.
Peach: 8 sliced peaches. No lemon juice. Follow above but bake 35 minutes at end.
Apple: 6 peeled, sliced apples. No lemon juice. Follow above but bake 45 minutes at end.

Shoo Fly Pie

2 cups flour	1/2 cup sugar	1/3 cup shortening or butter	1 pie crust bottom
1 cup corn syrup	1 tsp. baking soda	1 cup warm water

Preparation: Sift flour and sugar together. Add shortening to make fine crumbs. In a separate bowl, combine corn syrup and baking soda with 1 cup warm water. Fill pie crust with alternating layers of corn syrup and crumb mixture, ending with crumbs on top.
Cook: Bake at 425°F for 10 minutes. Then reduce heat to 350°F and back until filling is firm.

Fruit Cobbler (Fresh Fruit)

1.75 cups flour	1 tbsp. baking powder	1/2 tsp. salt	6 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup sugar	3/4 cup cream or milk	6 cups fresh fruit

Preparation: Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter. Add the sugar and mix well. Stir in the cream with a fork. Gather the dough and knead inside the bowl. Set aside. Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 9” x 13” baking pan. Sweeten the fruit to taste and put in the greased pan. Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to fit the top of the baking pan. Place on top of fruit.
Cook: Bake at 375°F for 40-50 minutes until lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the crust.

Fruit Cobbler (Canned Fruit)

1 cup flour	6 tbsp. butter	1 tsp. vanilla extract (optional)
1 cup sugar	1 cup milk	1 large 25 oz. can fruit

OPTION ONE: Crust on Bottom:
Preparation: Melt butter in medium baking dish. Then mix in flour, sugar, milk, and optional vanilla extract. Pour the can of fruit over this mixture and do NOT stir.
Cook: Bake at 350°F for 50 to 60 minutes.

OPTION TWO: Crust on Top:
Preparation: Pour fruit into bottom of 9 x 12 baking pan. Mix the flour, sugar, milk, and optional vanilla extract in a separate bowl and then pour over the fruit. Do NOT stir. Cut butter into slices and place on top of the mixture.
Cook: Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes. When done, you may sprinkle the top with sugar (optional).

Blueberry (or Huckleberry) Crisp

4 cups blueberries	1/3 cup water	2 tsp. lemon juice
4 tbsp. butter	1/3 cup sugar	1/3 cup wheat flour	3/4 cup uncooked oatmeal

Preparation: Wash the berries. Remove stems and any unripe berries. Place the berries in an 8” square baking pan. Pour in the water and the lemon juice and stir well. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Combine the flour and the uncooked oatmeal. Mix until crumbly. Sprinkle the mixture over the blueberries.
Cook: Bake at 375°F for 40 to 45 minutes or until well browned.

Fried Pies (Using Canned Pie Filling)

1 Rich Southern Pastry (See Recipe Above)	1 can of pie filling (20 to 26 ounces)
1 cup sugar (granulated or powdered)	2 tsp. cinnamon

Pie Filling Options: Apple, Cherry, Peach, Pear, or Berry Pie Filling, or use some Chocolate Pudding as a filling.
Preparation: Follow the above "Rich Southern Pastry" recipe. Roll the pastry dough to a thickness of about one-quarter inch. Use an empty Crisco can (or any other empty 1-gallon food can) to cut circles from the dough. Place about 3 tablespoons of pie filling evenly onto one-half of one of the dough circles and fold the other half of the dough over the top of the pie filling. Use a fork to pinch the outer edges of the pie closed so the pie filling will not leak out. Continue filling each of the dough circles with pie filling until all the small pies are ready to be fried.
Cook: Heat some shortening, lard, or oil in a deep frying pan. You will need about 3/4 inch of melted shortening in the pan so the shortening will completely cover the pies when they are added. Depending on the size of your frying pan, use a spatula to place one, two, or three small pies carefully into the hot oil one at a time until the frying pan is almost full (only one layer of pies on the bottom of the pan). Fry until the pie crust turns a golden brown and then carefully transfer the fried pies to a cooling rack. While they are still hot, sprinkle the top of each pie with a light coating of sugar and then sprinkle with just a little cinnamon. Allow the pies to cool before eating.

Revised April 1, 2007 - Added Fried Pie Recipe.
Revised February 1, 2007 - Added Fruit Preserves Pie Recipe.
December 1, 2005 - Added Decorative Pie Crust Suggestions and Canned Fruit Cobbler Recipes

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Grandpappy's Basic Recipes A Collection of Easy Pie and Cobbler Recipes

Grandpappy's Basic Recipes

A Collection of
Easy Pie and Cobbler Recipes