Pie Time

Today we head to my in-laws' for an early Thanksgiving celebration.

Aside from one finger tip burn, and a nearly burnt crust (don't answer the phone while making baked pie crust!), the pie making has been pretty good today. I make pies every Thanksgiving and have been making pumpkin pie for several years when I found a great recipe in Parade magazine. You can find the recipe here, though I use the one I snipped out of Parade and taped into my Better Crocker cookbook. I get nostalgic about the goofiest things.

Pie crust is surprisingly easy to make, albeit a little time consuming. I learned how in my high school foods class and have been doing it a few times a year ever since. The recipe I use is in my Betty Crocker cookbook. Here is the secret to pie crust success: roll it out between two pieces of wax paper (use some flour too). When it's all rolled out, remove one piece of wax paper and fit it into the pie plate. Then you peel the other piece of wax paper off and you've got a perfect crust. It works every time!

Today I am also making a very fun kid-friendly pie. When I saw mini graham cracker crusts at the store, I couldn't resist. Mini chocolate pies with whipped cream for the kids, what could be better?! For older kids, they could easily make this one on their own. I made the instant chocolate pudding from the pie filling directions on the box, poured it into the mini crusts, and topped with cool whip and sprinkles.

Yummmmmmmm...

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