How to Make a Pie [Hardcover]

Cook's Illustrated Magazine (Author), John Burgoyne (Illustrator), Christopher P. Kimball (Introduction), Editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine (Author), Jack Bishop (Author)

Book Description

Series: Cook's Illustrated How to Cook | Publication Date: July 1, 1996

An illustrated step-by-step guide to perfect pie crusts and fillings

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Pie-making novices and experts alike will welcome How to Make a Pie, a succinct tutorial on the art. In fewer than 100 pages it provides illustrated, step-by-step instructions for preparing perfect pie crusts and fillings--recipes, tips, and information that all cooks can use.

Acknowledging the fear that besets so many would-be pie makers, the book provides a model introduction to crust making, expertly delineating the preparation of crusts for pie shells, both prebaked and filled and baked. Exemplary recipes for apple, custard, pumpkin, pecan, lemon meringue, and cream pies, among others, follow, with variations like Do-Ahead Fresh Apple Pie and Triple Chocolate Chunk Pecan Pie. Throughout, underlying techniques are explored and illustrated (the rolling out of pie dough is one), and sensible tips abound (an instant-read thermometer takes all the guesswork out of custard pie making).

A true primer, the book is part of the Cook's Illustrated Library series. Like the magazine, the books are dedicated to presenting tried-and-perfected recipes and cooking techniques in a concise, approachable way. --Arthur Boehm

Product Details

• Hardcover: 94 pages
• Publisher: Boston Common Press; 1st edition (July 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0936184167
• ISBN-13: 978-0936184166
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #985,626 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How To Make A Pie, April 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: How to Make a Pie (Hardcover)

By following the directions in this book, I made my first successful pie after numerous semi-failures. Not only is the book thorough, it tells which ingredients work best (i.e. a combination of butter and shortening for a tender and tasty crust), and why one method is better than another. The pie recipes include a number of types. I want to try them all.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best!, May 3, 2000

By 

Carol Bier (Centralia, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Make a Pie (Hardcover)

Use this book and you will make wonderful pies! Our family loves the apple pie and the chocolate cream and the banana cream. But the best thing is the crust recipe. You'll get a reputation for really knowing how to make pies! This is a succinct little book at a minimal price. My only surprise is that they did not use Clearjel as a thickener. It's Great!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tells you why and how you do things a certain way, December 31, 2003

By 

J. Fuchs "jax76" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How to Make a Pie (Hardcover)

I was skeptical that this book was going to produce better pies than the ones I make out of How To Cook Everything or Williams Sonoma's Pies and Tarts but it does. From a thorough but brief discussion of why you use the ratio of fat to flour suggested and why you really use both butter and vegetable shortening (they melt at different temperatures so there is separation in the crust at more then one point in the baking, which makes the crust flakier), to discussions of the best types of apples to use for apple pie, and which spice combinations tested best. These are instructions from people who tested pies every way you can think of, and found out what worked best for each part, offered up with explanations of why it works best.

This is a concise, short book, and the best primer on pies you could ever have. It's going to make all my pie-making better, even when I dig back into the big books. People noticed an improvement from my already great pies with the first one I baked out of this small collection. Worth every penny.