lesson 1: don't overfill the pies

actually, this should be lesson #2 but I didn't take pictures when I made my first mistake so this will be the first mistake I share with you :)

a good scientist baker measures accurately, and I am usually no exception to this rule. however, despite mixing up the apple pie filling exactly to the recipe I didn't bother measuring the amount of filling I put into the pies. the cookbook and the user manual state that no more than 1/3 of a cup of filling should be added to each pie. AND this is the first batch of pies I have baked with lids (top crusts).....so....naturally I just split the filling 4 ways and called it good.

See, there's this pressure you have when the pie maker is all preheated (and it gets HOT) and you've put your crusts in and shaped them with the little shaper tool, the crusts are starting to sizzle away...now you've got to fill and lid the pies quickly....this takes practice. I need to shoot some pics of these stages too...but I haven't had time ;)

and I'm still getting the hang of this food blogging.

here's the puff pastry for the lids rolled out and resting.

here are the delicious apples cooking in butter - nothing better than butter for flavor-let's zoom in on those apples:

yummy spice and sugar mixture for the filling too

here is the apple filling all finished and waiting it's turn.

So, here's the part where i've put the pie crust bottoms in the HOT pie maker machine and I and hurredly filling the crusts with what I perceive to be equal amounts of apple pie filling and of course it looks like it's less than 1/3 cup.

However, evidence emerges that the pies were overfilled:

oops...

the pies were still yummy according to my husband - I thought so too. the fillings that I've made from the Mini Pie Book so far have been delicious!

Next up: why your puff pastry needs to rest.....

So, what do you think? can you smell the sweet, buttery apple filling?

do you like your apple pie a la mode?

-D