Children’s Pie Crust in a Bag

 Young children enjoy being a part of any special preparations.  Holidays may be over, but as the long winter months roll on, making something special for family meals is a great way to share and create. Children shine when praised for cooking projects.  For easy mess-free cooking, make piecrust recipes in a sealable bag.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tbsp. sugar, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, 5 tbsp. cold vegetable shortening, 8 tbsp. ice water

 Directions: Help children measure flour, sugar, and salt into a sealable gallon plastic bag. Seal and shake to combine. Add chilled butter pieces and shortening to the bag. Press down and flatten the bag with palms to mix well and produce a flaky layered crust.

  Open the bag and add ice water. Reseal, press, and shake until the dough holds together (add more water, if necessary). Take out of the bag. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead together. Divide in half, flatten, wrap in plastic, and chill for 30 minutes.

  Roll out one of the disks on a lightly floured surface until you have a circle that's about 12 inches in diameter. Line a 9-inch pie plate with the dough. Trim any extra from the edges with a sharp knife (adults only). Return to refrigerator ready for the pie. Makes 1 double crust.

Children’s Apple Pie

Ingredients:

 8 Granny Smith or Cortland apples, juice of 1/2 lemon, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour, pie crust, 2 tbsp. butter, cut into chunks, milk for glaze

Directions:

  Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Once adults peel the apples, younger children may cut apples into ¼ inch pieces with a table knife. Place apples in a large mixing bowl or sealable bag. Pour the lemon juice over apples; add sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour. Toss well. Empty the spiced apples into the lined piecrust and dot with butter. For a lattice top crust, children cut 14 long strips out of the second piecrust. Working from the middle of the pie toward one side, fold back every other strip. Lay a cross strip across the remaining flat strips. Return the folded strips, then fold back the alternate strips and lay in the next crosspiece. Continue, creating a weave pattern. When one half of the crust is woven, repeat with the other side. Children use thumb and index finger to crimp the edges. Brush the top with milk for a shiny glaze.

  Bake for 45 minutes (with a cookie sheet on the rack below) until crust is golden brown and you can see the juices bubbling. If the crust browns before the pie is fully baked, cover with foil until time is up. Cool pie before slicing into wedges.

For more help to prepare young children for success in school see the authors’ web site www.grandparentsteachtoo.org.

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Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dan90266/42759561/   http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Apple_pie_filling_arranged_in_the_crust.jpg