I have so many things (and people) to be thankful for, I don’t know where to begin. So in keeping with my personal philosophy, dessert should come first! There will be a flurry of posts with Thanksgiving ideas, but nothing is as important as “Humble Pie!”

Dancing around this pumpkin pie are little pie crust figures that represent the things I am most grateful for. In the picture above, starting at 12 o’clock and going clockwise, you will see my cats, gardening, Granddaughter #1, my chickens, our new grandson that will be born in February, warm clothes, food, Granddaughter #2, our dogs, warmth, sunshine, and family and friends. In the center is our cozy house. There is more – so much more that it would probably take three pies to even come close to naming all of the wonderful things in my life – but this covers the big stuff.

Your pie would look different, so I can’t tell you what to put on it, but I can give you instructions for creating your own humble pie. It’s time-consuming, but if you consider it a labor of love (and possibly a work of art) it is totally worth it. And if you opt for pre-made pie crusts or decide not to bother with the leaves around the edge, I promise I won’t tell.

Here’s my basic recipe for pumpkin pie. Instructions for the dough bling are below. Spend some time in reflection, list the things that are important to you, and have fun with this!

The best pie crust recipe I’ve ever tried is one that’s been around forever, sometimes called “Never Fail Pie Crust.” I love this recipe because even if you mess up and (gasp!) have to re-roll it, it still turns out flaky. I have substituted lard with great results, and today I used part lard, part shortening, and part butter, and it was perfect. Here’s the original version:

Never Fail Pie Crust
(makes 2 crusts)

1 cup chilled shortening
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/4 cup milk

• Mix flour and salt in medium bowl. Cut in the shortening until it looks like coarse crumbs.
• Mix vinegar into milk. Combine all at once into flour mixture.
  

  Cutting the shortening into the flour.

This can be rolled into crusts immediately, or flattened into disks and placed between sheets of plastic wrap and chilled first in the refrigerator. If you chill it for more than an hour, let it warm up a little before rolling it out.

Here’s how I first envisioned the pie (things are always so much more beautiful in my imagination), but I learned that the little cutouts don’t stay on the edge of the pie. They sort of dive into the filling or fall over the side, or just curl up in a manner that is very painful to see. The concept is the same with the leaves, though…brush on an egg wash and place the cutouts where you want them.

Okay, this didn’t work very well.  See? I mess up a LOT!

If you’re game, here are the instructions for humble pie:

On card stock (or paper, if that’s all you have) draw the shapes you want for the center of the pie. I took some of my shapes from pictures on the Internet, some from clip art, and drew some. Cut them out neatly. For the leaves, cookie cutters are the easiest, but you can draw or trace a few onto card stock and hand cut them. It’s fun to cut them freestyle, too.

If you’re going all out and putting the leaves around the edge of the pie, you probably should make a double batch of pie crust, because you’ll be making a bottom crust, leaves, and little cutouts of things you’re thankful for. You won’t need it all, but it’s better to have too much than too little. You can always put any extra in a zipper bag and freeze it for another time.

If you are doubling the recipe, after you blend the shortening into the flour mixture, divide the mixture in half and put into two bowls. If you have a kitchen scale, weigh the dough to get the amounts as even as possible. Now, add approximately 1/4 cup of the milk/vinegar mixture to one of the bowls. Toss with a fork until blended. Using your hands, form two balls of dough. Flatten them each on a piece of plastic wrap, cover, and put in the refrigerator.

Divide the mixture in the other bowl and put half into the empty bowl. Add half of the remaining liquid to the ingredients in one bowl, form into a ball, and set aside. Add orange or red food coloring to the remaining liquid, and mix into the remaining dough. Don’t try to blend it thoroughly – it looks better when it’s marbled.

If you’re only making a single batch of pie crust, separate the flour and shortening mixture in half. Add half the liquids to one bowl, form a ball, and refrigerate it. Split the other mixture into two parts. Add half of the liquid into one part and form into a ball, and put food color into the remaining liquid and add to the other part and form a ball. The refrigerated dough is for the crust, and the two small balls of dough are for the cutouts and the leaves.

Form colored dough into a ball and place on a well floured board. Roll out a fairly thick dough – almost 1/4 inch. With cookie cutters or a sharp paring knife, cut out out as many leaves as you can, re-rolling as necessary. (To give the leaves a serrated edge, use a large serrated bread knife and cut at an angle.) Put plastic wrap on a plate and lay the leaves flat, not letting them overlap. If necessary, put another sheet of plastic wrap over them and start another layer. Make big leaves and small leaves. If you want to get crazy, you can even “paint” them with an egg wash with food coloring mixed in. Put in the refrigerator until needed.

Cutting out pie crust leaves.

Using a serrated knife to put a pretty edge around a leaf.

Roll out the disk of plain pie crust and with your templates and sharp knife, cut out your chosen objects. There will be some that don’t cooperate…just shove the rejects into a pile and try again! This dough is really forgiving and will let you re-roll it several times. Move slowly, and flour the knife if you need to. Think of this as fragile play doh; you can add fun details after they’re cut out. Use a thin, flat spatula to set each finished piece onto a cookie sheet. From experience, I recommend that you make extras in case some break when you’re decorating the pie. Set this cookie sheet aside.

Cutting shapes out of pie crust. Time consuming, but satisfying!

Preheat your oven to 425 F.

Now…time to make your pie crust! Use lots of flour on the board and roll out one of the remaining crust discs at least 1 inch wider than your pie pan all the way around. It may help to put a piece of plastic wrap on the crust while you’re rolling it out. Gently roll it up with the rolling pin and lay it in the pan. Fold the edge under and flute. (If you’re adding the leaves, you could get away without fluting it.)

Make an egg wash by beating an egg with 2 teaspoons of water in a small bowl. With a pastry brush, paint the edge of the pie and lay the leaves in different directions all the way around, pressing lightly as you go. Carefully move your pie pan onto a cookie sheet so the leaves won’t get broken off when you remove the pan from the oven.

Mix up the pumpkin pie filling and pour it into the pie crust. Put it (on the cookie sheet) on the middle rack of the oven, and put the pan with the little figures on the top rack. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the little pie crust figures are a light golden color. Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack. Leave the pie in the oven and turn the temperature down to 350 F.

Allow the pie to cook for 40 minutes. Carefully remove (cookie sheet and all) and set on a heat-safe surface. Place your cutouts on the pie and return to the oven for 10 minutes. Move to a rack to cool. Admire it and take some pictures, because after all the “oohs” and “ahhhhs” it will disappear before your eyes.

Pie crust leaves, flaky and warm. Yummmm.

For another (easier) option, try a “Friendship Pie”.  You will need a double batch of crust because this pie has a top and bottom crust, and you’ll still need a crust to roll out and cut into little men and women. This is an apple pie – because I wanted something that would mound up well without bubbling out of the top of the pie. Use a paper template and put the people on the pie at the beginning instead of pre-cooking them and adding them later. My crust looked better in real life, honest! But I’m guessing I was a little generous with the shortening, because it didn’t hold the fluted edge well. That’s what happens when I’m slam-dunking too many things at once.

This project has put me in a reflective mood, and I can’t think of a snarky thing to say; my heart is full of gratitude. If this lasts too long, I’ll have to pull myself out of it by thinking of all the things I’m NOT thankful for. Let’s see – dog hair on my pillow, chicken poop on my shoes, dirty towels on the floor, flour everywhere…pffft!

She’s baaaack.