What a nice pie crust! I'm a first-time pie maker, and this still came out lovely. I did not have cake flour on hand, so I measured out 3/4 cup regular flour, took out about 3/4 tbsp of flour, and replaced it with an equal amount of cornstarch. I sifted this mixture before adding the other 3/4 cup of flour, and sifted again (I figured I might as well). I used a hand blender to mix together the butter and shortening before putting it in the freezer, which made it easier to work with when it came out. As per the recipe, I put half the fat into the food processor with the flour mixture, and then cut in the rest of the fat by hand. I was careful not to overmix, rolled it out between two sheets of wax paper (great tip), and actually I don't have a rolling pin so I used a wine bottle (it worked). I also let the dough relax in the fridge both before and after rolling out. Came out with just the right texture and a subtle flavor, goes well with either sweet or savory flavors. I think the mixture of shortening and butter really gives this a nice flavor.

Reviewed On: Oct. 17, 2009

I tried out this recipe with no modifications. When I cooked the pie filling in a saucepan, I stirred constantly, cooked it on a medium-low flame and achieved a beautiful non-lumpy mixture. I had no problems with the meringue (although 6TB sugar is way way too sweet, 3 or 4 will be much better). The problem is, the pie never set. It baked about 20 or 25 min at 325 and even though I knew it was still liquid, the meringue was clearly done. The pie filling itself is way too sweet, even for my sweet tooth. Honestly, just too much sugar. I'm not going to give up on it though. Next time, I'm going to 1) cut back on the sugar both on the meringue and the pie filling and 2) use cornstarch to thicken the filling.

Reviewed On: Oct. 17, 2009