Mile High Pie Recipes

MILE-HIGH APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Position an oven rack in the lower part of the oven and place a baking stone on it.
• Place the apples into a large mixing bowl, and toss with the lemon juice.
• Stir the potato starch, 3/4 cup sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a bowl.
• Roll out half of the pie crust pastry on a lightly floured surface and fit it into a 10 inch pie plate. Pile half the apples into the crust, and dot with half the butter pieces. Sprinkle half of the potato starch-cinnamon sugar mixture over the apples. Pile the remaining apples into the pie plate. Sprinkle with the remaining butter pieces and sugar mixture. Roll out the remaining pie crust pastry, and place carefully over the apples. Pinch and crimp the edges to seal the crusts. Use a fork to poke holes in the top crust in a few places. Brush the top crust with milk, and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.
• Place the pie in the preheated oven on the baking stone. Immediately lower the heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake until the crust is golden brown, about 60 minutes. Check half way through the baking time, and cover the edges with aluminum foil for the last 30 minutes if necessary to prevent over-browning. Cool 3 hours on a wire rack before serving.

MILE-HIGH APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the smaller piece of pate brisee into a 15-inch round about 1/8-inch thick, dusting surface with flour to prevent sticking, as needed. Brush off excess flour. Roll dough around rolling pin, and place over a deep-dish 9-inch pie plate. Line plate with dough, pressing it into the corners. Trim dough to within 1 inch of the pie plate. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate.
• Roll out remaining piece of dough into an 18-inch round. Transfer round to a baking sheet; cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.
• Peel and core apples, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place slices in a large bowl; sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent discoloration. In a small bowl, combine flour, sugar, and cinnamon; toss with apple slices.
• Remove remaining dough from refrigerator; place apple mixture into prepared pie plate, mounding it in a tall pile. Dot filling with butter. Place dough round over the apples. Tuck edge of top dough between edge of bottom dough and rim of pan. Using your fingers, gently press both layers of dough along the edge to seal, and crimp as desired.
• Using a paring knife, cut several vents in top of dough to allow steam to escape. In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk with 2 tablespoons water to make a glaze. Brush surface with egg glaze; sprinkle with sugar. Place on a baking sheet, this will catch any juices that may overflow during baking. Bake until crust is golden, about 15 minutes.
• Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool completely before serving.

MILE-HIGH CHOCOLATE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line pie dish with crust; crimp edges decoratively. Fully bake pie crust according to recipe or box instructions. Let cool completely.
• Whisk egg whites and sugar in a medium heatproof bowl set over a medium saucepan of simmering water until sugar dissolves and egg whites are warm but not hot, 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat. Using an electric mixer, beat on medium-high speed until cool, tripled in volume, and stiff peaks form (the tips of the peaks won't fall over when beaters are lifted from bowl and turned upright), about 6 minutes.
• Stir chopped chocolate and butter in a large bowl set over same saucepan of simmering water until melted and smooth, 4-5 minutes; set aside.
• Beat 2 cups cream in another medium bowl until medium peaks form (cream should be soft and pillowy), 5-6 minutes.
• Gently fold egg whites into warm chocolate mixture until fully incorporated (work quickly to prevent chocolate from turning gritty). Gently fold in whipped cream just until no white streaks remain; do not overmix or mixture will deflate. Spoon 1/2 cup chocolate mousse into bottom of prepared pie crust; spread evenly over bottom of crust. Sprinkle 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons crushed chocolate wafers over mousse. Top with remaining mousse, mounding in the center to create a dome. (The point is to add height, not to spread out evenly to edges.) Chill pie.
• Beat remaining 2 cups cream, crème fraîche, and salt until medium-stiff peaks form (when the beaters are lifted from the cream, the peaks will hold their shape but the tips will fall over). Top chocolate mousse with whipped-cream mixture, following the same rounded dome shape. Chill pie for at least 4 hours or, covered, for up to 3 days. (It will slice best if chilled overnight, allowing mousse to set properly.)
• Garnish pie with 2 tablespoons chocolate wafers and chocolate shavings. Slice pie using a clean, dry knife; wipe between slices to ensure clean, elegant pieces.

MILE-HIGH LIME PIE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the milk, sour cream, lime juice and food coloring if desired. Fold in whipped topping. Pour into the crust. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours.

MILE-HIGH LEMON PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a thickness of 1/8 inch, and use to line a 9-inch pie tin. Crimp the edges decoratively. Chill until firm. In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk and cream to make a glaze. Prick the bottom of the shell with a fork, brush the top edges with the glaze, and line with parchment paper. Weight the shell with pie weights or dried beans, and bake until the edges begin to brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove paper and weights; continue baking until golden brown, 7 to 10 minutes more. Let cool.
• To make filling, combine cornstarch, cake flour, salt, and sugar in a medium nonreactive saucepan over medium heat. Gradually add 2 cups cold water. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly, about 4 minutes.
• Remove the pan from heat. Temper egg yolks by beating a small amount of hot mixture into the yolks before adding them to pan. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes.
• Remove the pan from heat, and whisk in the lemon juice and rind. Add the butter one piece at a time. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, and let cool.
• Pour the filling into the cooled shell and refrigerate, covered with aluminum foil, until firm, about 1 hour.
• To make the meringue, combine egg whites, sugar, and salt in a heat-proof bowl. Set over a pan of simmering water; beat until warm and sugar is dissolved. Remove bowl from heat; whip into stiff peaks.
• Spread the meringue over pie so that it touches crust all around. Broil until brown, about 2 minutes, watching constantly. Serve at room temperature.

MILE HIGH PIE

Steps:

• Combine walnuts and biscuits. Add butter and mash thoroughly.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 10-inch diameter springform pan and press biscuit crust into base and 2-inches up side. Cover this crust with waxed paper, cut to fit bottom exactly. Fill pan with split peas, up to height of sides and bake "blind" for 1 hour. Let cool while still filled.
• When crust is cooled, removed pea weights and paper. Meanwhile, whip egg whites with cold water and salt until peaked. Fold in sugar a little at a time. Add vanilla and keep cool.
• Unmold ice cream from containers and cut horizontally through middle of each to yield 4 discs total. Place disks in pie crust, alternating strawberry and vanilla flavors. Top with meringue, letting it fall all around the ice cream. Set in freezer for 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Remove pie from freezer and place in oven to brown meringue tips. You may also use a blowtorch instead. Serve with chocolate sauce.

MILE-HIGH STRAWBERRY PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Combine flour, pecans, margarine, and brown sugar together in a bowl until crumbly; transfer to a baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven, stirring often, until crumbs are lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer most of the crumbs to a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Beat strawberries, white sugar, egg whites, and lemon juice together in a bowl using an electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 15 minutes. Fold whipped topping into strawberry filling; pour over crumbs.
• Sprinkle remaining crumbs over the strawberry filling. Cover dish with plastic wrap and freeze until set, 8 hours to overnight. Cut into squares.

MILE-HIGH PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare brownie mix as directed on package. Pour into greased 9-inch pie plate. Bake 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely on wire rack.
• Scoop out center of brownie with spoon, leaving a 1-inch crust around edge and thin layer of brownie on bottom. Reserve removed brownie pieces.
• Pour milk into large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes. Beat with wire whisk 2 minutes. (Mixture will be thick.) Stir in half of the whipped topping and all but 1/4 cup of the reserved brownie pieces. Spoon into brownie crust; top with remaining whipped topping and remaining brownie pieces. Refrigerate 2 hours or until set. Store leftover dessert in refrigerator.

MILE HIGH PUMPKIN MARINGUE PIE

Steps:

• CRUST:.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Combine ginger snap crumbs and melted butter in a bowl. Stir to Blend. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a deep dish 9-in (23cm) pie plate. Bake in the centre of the oven for 15 minutes, or until crisp and golden around the sides. Move to a rack to cool.
• FILLING:.
• Sprinkle gelatin over brandy in a small bowl. Let stand until softened.
• Scrape brandy mixture into a saucepan along with sugar, spices, pumpkin, milk, egg YOLKS, and orange zest. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture "mounds when dropped from a spoon".
• Transfer filling to a metal bowl and set in a larger bowl of ice and cold water. Cool, stirring Constantly.
• Beat egg whites and sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold into pumpkin mixture with sour cream until no streaks remain.
• Spoon filling into cooled crust and chill until set, preferably overnight. (You can cook from this point and skip the meringue if you don't like it. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes or until the filling looks cooked. Refrigerate until served).
• MERINGUE:.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Whip egg whites and cream of tartar with an electric mixer at medium speed until foamy.
• Continue whipping at medium-high speed, gradually adding sugar until fully incorporated. Continue to whip until whites hold a stiff peak.
• Dollop over chilled pie. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until meringue is golden.
• Refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Sprinkle with ground ginger snaps if you wish.

MILE-HIGH STRAWBERRY PIE

Steps:

• With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites, strawberries, lemon juice, and sugar for 20 minutes (that's not a typo; it really takes 20 minutes!). It will resemble meringue when ready.
• Fold in the Cool Whip.
• Put in the prepared crust.
• Freeze for several hours.