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Secrets For The Perfect Pie

Alyssa Curlin
· · Updated Feb 11, 2026 · 3 min read
Pies are so beloved, there’s even a National Pie Day. But you don’t need a holiday to make a pie. Pies are an ideal dessert any time of the year. In some households, they aren’t even relegated to an after-meal treat.

Secrets For The Perfect Pie

Fruit pie for breakfast, anyone?

  • Start with a terrific recipe. Check out Our Deer's pie recipes for scrumptious, unique pies.
  • For a flaky pie crust, a pastry cutter works best.

    Cut the ingredients until the flour and shortening mixture has balls slightly smaller than the size of tiny peas.

  • When adding water to the crust ingredients, make sure it’s ice cold. Butter or shortening should also be chilled in the freezer before making the dough.
  • A little lemon juice or vinegar makes the crust more tender.
  • Choose your ingredients carefully.

    Shortening and lard give a flakier crust, while butter makes the crust more flavorful.

  • Don’t work the crust dough too much. Use a food processor to help keep the ingredients colder and mix until the dough just sticks together.

    Working it any longer will make the crust tougher.

  • Chill the dough before rolling it out, and once more before filling it or baking it.
  • Use the right pan: Glass or dull-metal work best.
  • To make a pie that slides right out of the pan (whole or in slices), spray the pie pan with a little nonstick vegetable shortening, or grease and flour it.
  • Avoid glazes.

    Although they look pretty, they are tough and seal in the excess moisture of the filling.

  • To prevent a soggy bottom crust, brush with egg white or melted chocolate and refrigerate for about 15 minutes before filling the crust.
  • To thicken fruit pies without changing their flavor, use potato starch.

    High acid fillings (such as cherries) do better with a little quick-cooking tapioca.

  • To upgrade the flavor of fruit pies, macerate the fruit, boil, and reduce the resulting juices for use in the pie.
  • To avoid over-browning the crust, cover the edges with foil after the first 15 minutes of baking.
  • If a double layer pie’s crust is browning too quickly, cover it with foil in which you’ve cut a hole or slits that allow steam to escape.
  • If your meringue pie will need to sit around for a bit, try four or five marshmallows cut into pieces into it, just before spreading.

Perfect Pie

Check out the video version of this article on YouTube

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6owKUwrP0c

 

Secrets For The Perfect Pie

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Written by

Alyssa Curlin

Alyssa has taught writing, health and nutrition. She started writing in 2009 and has been published in different magazines. Alyssa holds a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in education, both from the University of California.

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