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Though eating pie can be a carefree affair, making one is a completely different matter. As much as we would all love to channel Martha Stewart — rolling out pie crusts with one hand while crafting sparkling paper snowflakes with the other — most of us just don’t have the time to bake a homemade apple pie. Happily, we can always purchase a pie from the grocery store and make it seem like we made it from scratch.
To help us achieve a homemade miracle from store-bought goods, Chowhound spoke exclusively with Saura Kline, pastry chef at the Local Jones bistro in Denver, Colorado. Though Kline’s cookbook “Easy as Pie“ more than covers all the ins and outs of pie making, the seasoned baker gladly offered her advice. “An easy upgrade is to brush the top crust with egg wash, then coarse sugar, then bake,” explains Kline. “This will give the pie a sugar cookie crust that tastes homemade.” The egg wash will not only give your store-bought apple pie a glorious golden glow, it seals the dough which then protects the delicate crust as it bakes in the hot oven.
How apple pie goes from store-bought to homemade
Leveraging Saura Kline’s advice, there are a few additional ways to convert a store-bought pie from satisfactory to superb. One method comes from Ina Garten’s upgrade for a Trader Joe’s apple tart, which involves buying or whipping up a batch of caramel sauce to drizzle over the top. You can also brush the crust with a mixture of butter, vanilla, and bourbon before warming it in the oven so your guests would never guess it came from a grocery store.
If adding more sweetness to store-bought goods isn’t your style, feel free to put a savory spin on apple pie by topping it with smoky sliced bacon, or find out why apple pie and cheddar cheese is such an iconic pairing in the Midwest by melting a slice on top. Even if you simply serve a warm apple pie with toasted pecans, walnuts, or plate it à la mode, your family and friends will more than appreciate the effort.
