By Darren Kirby, Author of Pie Iron Recipes
Source: Pleuntje via Flickr
So last time I introduced you to the pie iron, and gave you a simple but yummy recipe for a basic fruit pie. This time I’ll give you some ways to really enhance that recipe, share some tips and tricks, and give you my absolute favorite dessert recipe. Let’s get cooking!
So you’ve played around with different fruit fillings, trying cherry, apple, blueberry, blackberry, lemon, strawberry and others, and they’re great. But have you tried swapping out the bread??? A good cinnamon swirl bread pairs great with apple or cherry filling. Try a sweeter Italian bread to pair with lemon or strawberry. Each time you use a different bread, the whole dessert pie tastes different. The combinations are nearly endless!
I’m sure you’re wondering just how to cook your pie the best. While it sounds simple, there’s really an art to cooking your pies right without turning it into a black charcoal mess. This is something that many people don’t do, or don’t do frequently enough. And don’t worry, you won’t ruin your pie or somehow destroy the cooking process. I’m referring to checking your pie while you cook! My secret here is that I don’t latch my pie iron when I cook. I bet you’ve seen the little hook attached to one of the rods of your pie iron, and you’ve probably used it too. But I’m here to tell you, it’s something to avoid.
You’ve seen cooking shows where the chefs are tasting their food as they go? The best chefs will tell you that you need to check your product if you are going to know when it’s at the right time to serve. Your pies are no different. After a few minutes over the fire, take your pie iron cooker out of the fire and pop it open. You are visually checking your bread to see how the color is coming along. Be sure to check both sides too, because one side might be getting done faster than the other. This is the way the pie iron pros end up with the best looking (and tasting) pies cooked over the fire.
Here’s another tip for you. When you go to purchase a pie iron, I always advise people to buy the cast iron version, not the aluminum. Why? Well, there are several reasons, but one of the main reasons is the fact that when comparing the two metals, aluminum has a lower melting point than iron. I’ve seen pictures of an aluminum pie maker that got too hot, and the metal actually warped! The pie iron maker really couldn’t be used after that because it wouldn’t close properly. You won’t have that problem with cast iron. Additionally, aluminum also transfers heat much faster than cast iron, so you could easily end up with more burnt pies using aluminum.
Okay, as my last parting gift, I give you my absolute favorite dessert: a chocolate-peanut butter pie! This is astonishingly easy, yet so good you won’t be able to stop yourself from making a second (or third). Here’s what you need:
- Bread
- Chocolate bar
- Peanut butter
- Butter
And here are the 4 cooking steps:
- Add a slice of butter to one-half, then cover with a slice of bread
- Add a half bar of chocolate and a tablespoon of peanut butter to the bread
- Add a slice of bread on top of the other slice, then put a slice of butter on top of that bread
- Close up the pie iron with the other half, then cook over the fire until golden brown
Just typing this up makes my mouth water! Yes, it’s really that good of a dessert. So, with these recipes and helpful tips, you’ll be sure to have the best-tasting pies in the neighborhood.
Enter to Win a copy of Pie Iron Recipes!
Did you enjoy this post? Are you itching to start cooking with a pie iron? Would you like to receive a copy of Darren’s book to get you started? For free? Darren Kirby has graciously offered to give one copy of his book away to a lucky reader. All you need to do to enter is sign up for Darren’s email list. Everyone who signs up between now and the end of March 2017 will be entered into a drawing to get a copy of Pie Iron Recipes in paperback.
Enter to Win Now!
About the Author: Darren Kirby
Different. Eccentric. Odd. Loud. Irreverent. Fun. While none of these words have been used to describe the author, he nevertheless attempts to entertain people in his own unique way. A student of people, of ideas, of the world, he hopes to entertain for a living through his writing. Fortunately, his wonderful wife and slightly unusual cat both support his efforts.
Darren has been writing professionally for more than nine years, has published 15 titles of fiction and non-fiction, taught a self-publishing class at a state university, and has recently consulted on a new book about Prince’s early life. His book Pie Iron Recipes is one of the most popular books on the topic.
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Miss previous posts? Find links to them here.
