Easy as Pie

I've always been intrigued by this phrase, "easy as pie."  Frankly, I think pie is pretty damn hard.  Pie crust is my nemesis. I've followed countless pie crust recipes, tips from friends, video tutorials, you name it.  Pie crust kicks my butt. But, I keep trying, convinced that one day I'll be able to master this very simple concoction.

A couple years ago, my mother-in-law gave the Wunderkind this cookbook: 

It is really cute and it even came with kid-sized utensils.  Recently, Vivi pulled it off the shelf and  marched into the kitchen, announcing that she wanted to make apple pies. PIES! Instantly, pie crust failure flashbacks flooded my brain.  The fear was setting in.  As my heart rate increased, I took a couple deep breaths and thought "Hey, relax.  It's a cookbook for kids. Maybe this will finally teach me to conquer the crust?"  I shook it off, deciding not to transfer my pie crust cross-to-bear onto my child and said a simple "sure, babe."

Eager Pie Baker

 I let her run the show.  She measured out her ingredients, followed the directions carefully and used me as her sous-chef. And, the kid made pie crust.  A flaky, buttery, perfect pie crust.  

Lookin' good!

Finished product, complete with pastry "V"

Not only was it fantastic for her to have such a great result, but just watching her watch the oven, checking the timer, and getting excited about her baking adventure was the best thing ever.  Once they were ready, we let them cool (slightly) before diving in to taste.  Success!  My sweet baby created 4 personal size apple pies and they were awesome.  She was so incredibly proud of herself and I could practially see the confidence radiating from her.  We had to drive one over to my parents' house so she could share the lovin' from the oven!

If you haven't had the chance yet to teach a child to cook, find an opportunity.  Yes, it can be immensely frustrating because they don't always listen well, they are messy and sometimes they lose interest, but if you keep trying, the next thing you know they are baking pies. And making pie crust better than you!

Better Not Quit My Day Job

I've baked off and on my whole life.  But, in recent years, things haven't been going so well.  I've concluded that I would flunk out of pastry chef school on the first day.  If I had to roll out dough for a living, I'd be living without any dough ($).  Is it this annoying rolling pin that always sticks no matter what I do?  Is it the temperature in my house?  Is it bad luck?  Is it just me?

The wunderkind decided that this year, Santa needed gingerbread men instead of a traditional cookie.  I have been nervous about this project.  Hey!  Maybe that's it; psyching myself into failure?  Last night, I dreamed about having to roll gingerbread dough.  So, bright and early I got my gingerbread baker hat on.  Needless to say, it's been a stressful and trying endeavor. Just like I thought it would be.

I chilled the dough for 2 hours, just like the recipe said.  Time to roll it out and then freeze it...this dough is sticky, soft, not really like a cookie dough at all.  Then, there's my <bleep> rolling pin with gingerbread goo stuck all over it.  I improvise with a plastic cylinder sprayed with Pam.  I got it rolled out into a thin sheet, but it wasn't pretty.  Then, after the 20  minutes in the freezer, separating it from the parchment paper was quite a feat.  Took me and Neil together.  And, as we all know, the purpose of parchment is that stuff doesn't stick to it. 

So, we managed to get 4 gingerbread men into the oven.  They look like they are supposed to; a Christmas miracle!  

Yeah, we decorate cookies in our bikinis...what of it?

R) my cookie  L) Viv's Santa cookie

The Miraculous Gingerbread Men

But, the remainder of the dough in the fridge is weighing heavy on my mind.  Should I bolster myself to fight with this dough again and crank out as many little men as possible?  Or, assume that Santa doesn't need more than 4 gingerbread men and just call it a day?  And, before someone tells me that Martha Stewart has a good, easy recipe let me say this:  I officially loathe M.S.  but I DID go to her site and used this recipe.  Damn, maybe it IS just me.  

Merry Christmas everyone!