Chapter 8.4

Pies and Cookies

Pastry Pie Dough

• Basic 3-2-1 dough– Made of three parts flour,

two parts fat, and one part water (by weight).

– When made properly, it is flaky, tender and flavorful

• Referred to as pate brisee or the perfect complement to any filling.

– It is important to work the pastry flour as little as possible

• Both the liquid and the fat should be COLD!! – Fat usually consists of

shortening, butter or lard.– The liquid is usually milk or

water.• Fat should be cut into the

flour leaving small pieces of fat throughout.– During baking, the fat

melts forming a flaky, tender layer.

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Crumb Crusts• Crumb crusts pies rely on

flavor and texture to compliment the filling.– Contribute a nutty, buttery

flavor– Highlights cheesecake or

frozen fillings well.

• Crumb crusts are made from crumbled graham crackers, nuts or cookies mixed with butter, sugar and cinnamon.– The crumbs are then pressed

into the bottom of a pie pan and baked alone or with a filling.

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Baking Pies

• Bake pies just until they begin to take on a golden color.– If they begin to brown too much, cover pie loosely

with aluminum foil near the end of baking.• Prepare fruit fillings for pies using sliced and

peeled fresh fruit that is either poached with a liquid or allowed to cook as the pastry bakes. – Cornstarch, tapioca, or arrowroot may be added to

thicken the fruit filling.

Blind Baking• Blind Baking is the procedure for preparing a pre-baked

pie shell.– Prepare dough, roll it out, fit into pan, and the dock it in several

places with a fork.– Cover pastry with parchment and bake it usually weights to keep

the crust nice and flat as it bakes.– Once a pie shell is baked, fill it with custard, pudding, or fresh

fruit filling.– Refrigerate to set.

• Examples of pies that are blind baked are chocolate cream pie, banana cream pie, and lemon meringue.

Cheesecake

• Very similar to a crumb crust pie, but it is baked in a spring form pan that gives it straight sides.– Cheesecake is made from a cream cheese or quark

(a cheese that is a lot like sour cream) and egg batter.• In the U.S., unbaked cheesecake is also popular.

– It is made by coagulating sweetened condensed milk with an acid. Cream cheese and/or sour cream are often part of these recipes as well.

– Not as delicate or fine as a traditional baked cheesecake.

Video Demonstration

• Basic 3-2-1 Crust• Apple Pie (Joy of Cooking)• Blind Baking (America’s Test Kitchen)• New York Cheesecake (Joy of Cooking)

Cookies

• Pastry chefs make most cookies from rich dough.– Rich dough uses the same creaming method

as quick breads and cake batters, but with the liquid and the flour added at the same time.

– The creaming of the dough determines the texture of the cookie and how much it will spread during baking.

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METHODS USED FOR MIXING COOKIE BATTERS

• Creaming - The fat and sugar are placed into a mixing bowl and creamed together. The eggs and any liquid are added. Finally, the flour and leavening agent are added and mixed just until combined.

• One-Stage - All the ingredients are placed into a mixing bowl and blended together until a smooth batter is formed.

Baking Cookies

• Due to their high sugar content, cookies are best when they are baked in convection ovens. – Convection ovens pull air in by a fan and then gently

push air out through the holes/vents. – This creates a gentler environment for baked goods

that tend to burn easy due to high sugar content.

Types of Cookies

1. Dropped: made from a soft dough that is dropped by the spoonful or scoop• Chocolate chip, oatmeal

2. Bagged: forces a soft dough through a pastry bag• Lady Fingers, macaroons, tea cookies

3. Rolled: cookies are cut from a stiff dough that has been rolled out• Decorated sugar cookies and shortbread

4. Molded: molded from a stiff dough by hand into any shape• Peanut butter cookies

Types of Cookies

5.Icebox: roll out dough into a log and chill; these cookies are made by slicing just before baking

6.Bar: bake three or four bars of dough the length of the baking pan, then slice them into small bars

• Biscotti

7.Sheet: Pour batter into baking pan and then bake; these are sliced into individual squares after baking.

• Brownies, blondies

COMMON PROBLEMS• If cookies brown too quickly - check oven calibration.

Additionally, over-browning can occur from using dark-colored baking pans or sheets which promote browning. – Either reduce oven temperature by 25 degrees F or use aluminum

pans or sheets. • If cookies brown too quickly on bottoms- the same reasons as

above but also your oven rack may be too low or the batter has too much sugar in it.

• If cookies brown too quickly on top and the bottoms are not cooked enough- the oven rack may be too high, the temperature is too high, or you are using dark-colored baking pans or sheets.

COMMON PROBLEMS• If cookies spread too much - dough may be too soft.

– Place the dough in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to firm up. – Never place cookies on a warm baking sheet – Cookies can also spread too much if placed on a greased baking

sheet, when the recipe states using an ungreased baking sheet. – Cookies made with butter have the tendency to spread more than

cookies made with shortening. • If cookies are too dry and hard- it may simply be that the

cookies were over baked. – If the oven was not hot enough, they will take too long to bake and

this causes them to dry out. – The batter could contain too much flour or not enough egg or liquid.

What type of cookie?

What type of cookie?

What type of cookie?

What type of cookie?

What type of cookie?

What type of cookie?

What type of cookie?

What type of cookie?