The Book on Pie: Everything You Need to Know to Bake Perfect Pies
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- Create Date：2021-04-30 03:16:08
- Update Date：2025-09-24
- Status：finish
- Author：Erin Jeanne McDowell
- ISBN：0358229286
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Summary
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Look no further than The Book on Pie for the only book on pie you'll ever want or need。
Erin Jeanne McDowell， New York Times contributing baker extraordinaire and top food stylist， wrote the book on pie， a comprehensive handbook that distills all you'll ever need to know for making perfect pies。 The Book on Pie starts with the basics， including ways to mix pie dough for extra flaky crusts， storage and freezing， recipe size conversions， and expert tips for decorating and styling， before diving into the recipes for all the different kinds of pies: fruit， custard， cream， chiffon， cold set， savory， and mini。 Find everything from classics like Apple Pie and Pumpkin Pie， to more inspired recipes like Birthday-Cake Pie and Caramel Pork Pie with Chile and Scallions。
Erin also suggests recommended pie doughs and toppings with each recipe for infinitely customizable pies: Mix and match Pumpkin Spice Pie Dough and Dark Chocolate Drippy Glaze with the Pumpkin Pie， or sub in the Chive Compound-Butter Crust for the Croque Madame Pielets 。 。 。 the possibilities are endless。 With helpful tips， photographic guides， and inspirations—pie-deas—it's almost like having Erin in the kitchen baking pies with you。
Look no further than The Book on Pie for the only book on pie you'll ever want or need。
Erin Jeanne McDowell， New York Times contributing baker extraordinaire and top food stylist， wrote the book on pie， a comprehensive handbook that distills all you'll ever need to know for making perfect pies。 The Book on Pie starts with the basics， including ways to mix pie dough for extra flaky crusts， storage and freezing， recipe size conversions， and expert tips for decorating and styling， before diving into the recipes for all the different kinds of pies: fruit， custard， cream， chiffon， cold set， savory， and mini。 Find everything from classics like Apple Pie and Pumpkin Pie， to more inspired recipes like Birthday-Cake Pie and Caramel Pork Pie with Chile and Scallions。
Erin also suggests recommended pie doughs and toppings with each recipe for infinitely customizable pies: Mix and match Pumpkin Spice Pie Dough and Dark Chocolate Drippy Glaze with the Pumpkin Pie， or sub in the Chive Compound-Butter Crust for the Croque Madame Pielets 。 。 。 the possibilities are endless。 With helpful tips， photographic guides， and inspirations—pie-deas—it's almost like having Erin in the kitchen baking pies with you。
Reviews
Brindi Michele
，
I am not a pie person， but I could be。 I want this book。 :）Great tips on different crusts， whipped creams， pie pans， toppings， and a few extra important stuff not usually found in these baking books。 Definitely a pie book worth having！
Shipshapeeatworthy
，
Published last fall， The Book on Pie is the book that every baker should have in their cookbook library because McDowell offers all the information you need to know about baking beautiful pies。 This book is an essential resource for baking pies and， while I have baked a few pies， before owning McDowell’s book I never feel like they turn out with any sort of consistency。 Unlike baking cookies where I know what they'll be like 100% of the time， baking a pie seems like more of a mystery。 And， with Published last fall， The Book on Pie is the book that every baker should have in their cookbook library because McDowell offers all the information you need to know about baking beautiful pies。 This book is an essential resource for baking pies and， while I have baked a few pies， before owning McDowell’s book I never feel like they turn out with any sort of consistency。 Unlike baking cookies where I know what they'll be like 100% of the time， baking a pie seems like more of a mystery。 And， with so many methods and such a variety of pies， learning how to consistently bake a good pie seems like an insurmountable task -- this is where McDowell's book comes in。 She outlines all the essential equipment you'll need and， then over the next six chapters -- Doughs & Crusts， Decor & Toppings， Fruit Pies， Custard Pies， Cream， Chiffon & Cold-Set Pies， and Savory Pies -- she explains everything you need to know in order to bake pies。 I appreciate all the helpful process pictures for how dough and crust-related techniques are achieved and what the different steps along the process look like。 Each recipe gives the level of difficult -- which is helpful （in my case） when choosing an appropriate recipe to match my ability-level。 McDowell also troubleshoots all the problems you may encounter along the way， what to watch out for， and in some cases how to correct your course。 Getting back to Pi（e） Day 2021， I flipped through The Book on Pie and with all the choices， I managed to settle on baking the Birthday-Cake Pie。 A delightful pie topped with Chocolate Meringue Topping and sprinkles， this looked like just the pie to celebrate my favourite day！ Initially， I was a little nervous because I've never made a custard pie before， so I was glad it was paired with a crumb crust that looked simple to make。 And it was easy to make -- a mixture of vanilla wafer crumbs and butter， this blend is then pressed into a pie dish and parbaked in the oven。 As you can see in the photo， the crust looks really good and I was happy to see it hadn't shrunk when I removed it from the oven （even if it had， McDowell offers tips on how to fix this issue）。 Once the crust had cooled， I combined all the ingredients for the filling， folded in the round confetti sprinkles and slid the pie back into the oven。 I learned that the trickiest part of baking a custard pie is telling when it's done -- the key question is how much jiggle is ok？ The edges should be set， and the centre can offer the tiniest shimmy when you give it a shake。 Custard pies will continue to cook as they cool -- one reason why you don't want the pie to over bake。 For a first effort， I think I did just fine -- even my husband （who's personal motto is "if it's not chocolate， then it's not dessert"） loved it！ It could be that the Chocolate Meringue Topping added just enough chocolate flavour for him， but I think it was the creamy texture of the custard that had him hooked。 Speaking of the topping， meringue is one of my kitchen nemeses -- just another skill I need to spend more time mastering。 With the first batch of chocolate meringue， I couldn't get the meringue to reach the medium-peak stage。 And so， when I tried making the topping a second time， I got the meringue to the correct texture but when I started to fold in the cocoa powder， it lost its peaks （I think I should have added the cocoa powder gradually instead of all at one time）。 I added it to the pie anyways and I also piped some whipped chocolate cream to the top。 Since this is a celebration pie， I added more sprinkles too because， as we all know， sprinkles make everything better！The more time I spend with The Book on Pie， the more recipes I bookmark。 Just as there are pies for every baking ability level， there are pies for every/any occasion （the one I can't seem to get out of my mind is the Roasted Tomato and Gooey Cheese Free-Form Pie -- maybe this will be one of my next recipes to bake？）。 And， what McDowell has shown me is that pies are versatile -- homey delights which are great for casual occasions and ones that are more festive and awe-inspiring。 With all McDowell’s delicious-sounding recipes and the beautiful photograph of Mark Weinberg， I think I'll have to bake pies a little more often and not wait for Pi（e） Day in March！Please note that this is an excerpt of a review posted to www。shipshapeeatworthy。wordpress。comI would like to take this opportunity to thank Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Raincoast Books for providing me with a free， review copy of this book。 I did not receive monetary compensation for my post， and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own。 。。。more
Annie
，
This is a book about pudding， not pie。 This has a good section on different crust variations to make - 5 stars for variety- followed by the rest of the book being recipes for jelly or pudding to load into those crusts - 0 stars， revolting。 I think the number of pie fillings that were baked， and not pre-roasted/simmered/boiled etc， was less than 10。 After the short section on fruit pies （most of which had you make an oversweetened jelly as the filling， rather than fresh or frozen fruit with a bit This is a book about pudding， not pie。 This has a good section on different crust variations to make - 5 stars for variety- followed by the rest of the book being recipes for jelly or pudding to load into those crusts - 0 stars， revolting。 I think the number of pie fillings that were baked， and not pre-roasted/simmered/boiled etc， was less than 10。 After the short section on fruit pies （most of which had you make an oversweetened jelly as the filling， rather than fresh or frozen fruit with a bit of thickener like a reasonable person would do）， it was just pudding， pudding， pudding。 Carrot cake pudding， which had more cream and sugar than carrots。 Birthday cake pudding， which was just vanilla with sprinkles。 German chocolate pudding， which was chocolate pudding with coconut-walnut topping。 Sweet corn pudding， which actually sounded fine but the picture made me gag。 Gross， gross， gross。 。。。more
Mariko
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Wow！ Very thorough AND visually pleasing。 Gives lots of creative options。
Lauren
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Delicious recipes that I'd like to try and lots of information to make good pies。 Delicious recipes that I'd like to try and lots of information to make good pies。 。。。more
Pinky
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Pie chart for amount of dough needed for different sized pans。 There's a whole chapter dedicated to just pie crusts。 Gluten-free pie dough， vegan pie dough， caramelized pie crust and brown butter pie dough are bases I would like try。 Lots of ideas for creating different kinds of designs on top of your pie。 The savory pie section isn't lacking and I can't wait to try the frybread taco pie recipe。 Pie chart for amount of dough needed for different sized pans。 There's a whole chapter dedicated to just pie crusts。 Gluten-free pie dough， vegan pie dough， caramelized pie crust and brown butter pie dough are bases I would like try。 Lots of ideas for creating different kinds of designs on top of your pie。 The savory pie section isn't lacking and I can't wait to try the frybread taco pie recipe。 。。。more
Hayley
，
Excellent book for bakers！
Anastasia Solomakha
，
найцікавіша кулінарна книжка， яку мені доводилось читати （як художню 😁）тут найдетальніші пояснення， з чого ж почати - коли мова йде про пироги: як правильно замісити тісто， як вибрати начинку і як класно задекорувати пиріг。більше 150-ти сторінок теорії， море рецептів солодких і солених пирогів на будь-який смак。
Lyvonne Foster
，
A Really Great Pie cookbook。
Kerry
，
Wow！ what an informative cookbook on pie。 Great for beginners and experienced pie bakers。 Erin Jeanne McDowell is really knows her stuff！
jeanmarie
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I feel so guilty leaving this review because it was really a nice book but I made two pies from here and they were both a bit of flops :（ I did a pumpkin that was really sweet and a chocolate pie that was snubbed my my chocolate-loving boys。 I felt like the dough techniques were helpful and maybe I was overthinking it but I felt like I ended up with a worse dough vs a better one after following her tips。 Again， probably my fault and I'll try again another time。 I feel so guilty leaving this review because it was really a nice book but I made two pies from here and they were both a bit of flops :（ I did a pumpkin that was really sweet and a chocolate pie that was snubbed my my chocolate-loving boys。 I felt like the dough techniques were helpful and maybe I was overthinking it but I felt like I ended up with a worse dough vs a better one after following her tips。 Again， probably my fault and I'll try again another time。 。。。more
Cait
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If you like pie even a little， you need to check this out。 There is SO much detail， so many ideas。 I don't feel I got the best out of it having the ebook - it really feels like the kind of cookbook that works best when you can see the pictures properly and flip back and forward If you like pie even a little， you need to check this out。 There is SO much detail， so many ideas。 I don't feel I got the best out of it having the ebook - it really feels like the kind of cookbook that works best when you can see the pictures properly and flip back and forward 。。。more
Siobhan McRibbles
，
Amazing！！ I got this cookbook after watching her videos on Food52， and have not been disappointed。 I have made the pretzel pie， the pithivier and the individual apple pies with gingerbread rough puff。 I found the instructions to be clear， easy to follow and pretty intuitive。 The flavours have been amazing and there are many things I have tabbed for when I can cook for a group again。 I used to dislike pie， but now I love it！
Alena
，
In theory， if you don‘t find a pie to bake in this book， there’s nothing anyone can do to help you。 However， I was totally overwhelmed while reading it。 Recipes aplenty and yet nothing really straightforward in the sense that it offers you options for crusts and filling variations for every one of them。 Gorgeous book， no doubt about it， but probably not for absolute pie beginners。 It‘s been ages since I baked an American pie。
Polly Krize
，
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。Such an amazing book for bakers！ From crusts to fillings to toppings， this is an all-inclusive book from a New York Times contributing baker。 Recommended （and delicious）！
Amanda
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This isn't just the book on pie， it's THE book on pie， the Encyclopedia of Pie， the ultimate everything about pie that you never thought you needed to know。 If you love pie， you need this book。 I don't think you'll ever need another one。I've been making pies since I was very young， and while pie is not my favorite dessert to eat， I love the challenge of making them。 Pies require so much more finesse and skill than cake， and mistakes can't be easily covered up。 Over the years I've read every sing This isn't just the book on pie， it's THE book on pie， the Encyclopedia of Pie， the ultimate everything about pie that you never thought you needed to know。 If you love pie， you need this book。 I don't think you'll ever need another one。I've been making pies since I was very young， and while pie is not my favorite dessert to eat， I love the challenge of making them。 Pies require so much more finesse and skill than cake， and mistakes can't be easily covered up。 Over the years I've read every single pie cookbook I could get my hands on， and none of them even comes close to being as good as this book。 Just the crust section alone could have been its own book， it's so wide-ranging。 I've followed Erin on Instagram for quite a while， as she was a consultant for Food52 and her creativity is incredible， so I was very excited for this book。 Erin's instructions are written clearly and concisely， there's nothing confusing here， she knows how to walk you through something that seems intimidating。 The pictures are gorgeous （of course， she is an award-winning food stylist as well as a recipe developer） but while the book isn't flooded with photos， she has cleverly photographed the finished products in some chapters in groups， which also offers you the benefit of comparison。Toppings！ There's every flavored meringue you could dream of， plus marshmallow toppings， flavored whipped cream （this is important because it's not as simple as it sounds to fold a flavoring into whipped cream）， streusels， coulis and fruit curds， and glazes。 Even how to make your own "cold snap" topping （aka "magic shell" that you use on ice cream）。There are fruit pies upon fruit pies here， and she teaches you everything you need to know about the filling， from freezing fruit perfectly to use later， to roasting or even grilling it。 There are dumplings and hand pies and crostata and crumble toppings。 The custard pie section has it all， every regional variation from Chess to Clafoutis to Sugar。 Cream and chiffon pies （this section was probably my favorite） are gorgeously creative。 And then the savory pie section: WOW。 Croque Monsieur pielets， savory tart tatins， pork pie， quiche， even taco！ I've never come across such an amazing savory pie chapter， most pie books offer only a scant handful of recipes like these， and many of Erin's are ones that you never would have thought of， but you'll want to taste them for sure。The equipment list is very thorough， and she has text boxes throughout of explanations， such as "what is a deep-dish pie" and "different fats for crust"。 Oh， and the index is done well。 Nothing irritates me more than an index that doesn't include every possible ingredient used， in addition to recipes。 。。。more
Suphatra
，
This is the best book on how to bake a great pie。 Half of the book is just about the crust， which is the most important and hardest part， and the rest are recipes of varying difficulty that you actually want to try and will definitely taste delicious。 You only need one pie book。 This one is it。
Katie Mertz
，
Erin Jeanne McDowell takes pie to new heights with this wonder。 She set out to write a pie handbook; not only did she accomplish this （handily！）， she created a baking bible to rival the likes of Beranbaum and Greenspan in my eyes。 This is a book for the ages， a must for all creatives who happen to be bakers， and vice versa。
Rolyne
，
This is an excellent and thorough guide to making pies。 Highly recommend this for any one who wants to learn how to make pies （like me！）。 It features pics in what pie dough should look like， ways to crimp edges and so much more。 After several disastrous attempts this book helps me figure out what went wrong :）
Deb （Readerbuzz） Nance
，
Everything you need to know to bake perfect pies？ Everything？ Really？ Amazingly， I think the title claim is true。 There is literally everything you need to know about baking perfect pies in this book。 It may be the best single book about pie baking that I have ever read。 And I have read a lot of books。What are some of the things I learned？ Pies bake well in cast-iron skillets。Cream cheese in pie crust adds tanginess。Don’t add sugar to the dough。 Instead， add to the top in sweet pies， and add sal Everything you need to know to bake perfect pies？ Everything？ Really？ Amazingly， I think the title claim is true。 There is literally everything you need to know about baking perfect pies in this book。 It may be the best single book about pie baking that I have ever read。 And I have read a lot of books。What are some of the things I learned？ Pies bake well in cast-iron skillets。Cream cheese in pie crust adds tanginess。Don’t add sugar to the dough。 Instead， add to the top in sweet pies， and add salt to the top in savory ones。Flaky doughs like high temperatures。Colder is always better when pie dough is involved。I copied down the book’s “All Buttah Pie Dough” which I fully intend to try soon。 I also couldn’t resist writing down the nut crust， the crumb crust， and a roll-out cookie crust。。。I made drawings for myself of various ways to crimp a pie crust。。。and listed some of the intriguing pies （How about a Birthday Cake Pie？ A Rosé Peach Pie？ What about a Cardamom Crème Brûlée Pie？） And on and on…Face it。 I just need to buy a copy of this wonderful book。 。。。more
Maryanna Gannon
，
As someone who jumped on the baking bandwagon this year， I love this book！ I love the way Erin Jeanne McDowell breaks down the pie process so simply。 And her YouTube videos are like learning from a friend。 I highly recommend this book to anyone with any level of baking experience。
Meg Bee
，
I love how beautiful this book is， but I must admit I have failed on 3 out of 4 pies。 Still， the one I succeeded on was fantastic。
Megan
，
Excellent tutorials and writing。 Excited to make lots of pie in 2021！
Amy
，
I learned so much just from reading this book。 Can't wait to dive in and make some goodies from within！ I learned so much just from reading this book。 Can't wait to dive in and make some goodies from within！ 。。。more
Allie
，
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book via NetGalley。I have been following Erin Jeanne McDowell for a while on Instagram and watching her videos and following her recipes。 I was beyond excited to see her announce a book solely on pies！ This book has a bit of everything for the novice to the expert。 I have a hard time with crusts and this let me really dive in and finesse my issues。 Also the flavor combinations for some of these pies were revelations！
Chessa
，
Love this cookbook！ So much， in fact， that I bought myself a finished copy， in addition to asking my library to purchase it for our collection。A beautiful book full of great tips and tricks to demystify pie baking。 If pie crust is your nightmare （it’s mine！） do yourself a favor and buy this book。 McDowell shows you how to do it step by step。 I love how many variations she provides for each recipe （ie。 try this crust instead， etc） - you’re sure to have ingredients in the house for one of them！Be Love this cookbook！ So much， in fact， that I bought myself a finished copy， in addition to asking my library to purchase it for our collection。A beautiful book full of great tips and tricks to demystify pie baking。 If pie crust is your nightmare （it’s mine！） do yourself a favor and buy this book。 McDowell shows you how to do it step by step。 I love how many variations she provides for each recipe （ie。 try this crust instead， etc） - you’re sure to have ingredients in the house for one of them！Be happy。 Buy this book。 Bake pies。 。。。more
OjoAusana
，
*received for free from netgalley for honest review* This book is so amazing :O hard to put into words how bad i want to buy this book for myself and others （bc this would make an amazing gift！！） Great recipes with a wide assortment of recipes and amazing photos。
Dash fan
，
5☆ A Mouthwatering Baking Book。。。。 A Pie Lovers Must Read！ Oh wow oh wow is this one Tummy Rumbling Book！ A Pie Lovers Idea of Heaven。 There is so， so many pies， variations， Fillings， Crusts， Designs， it was a complete eye opener to me。 Some I have never even heard of but I can't wait to try them！The Chapters are made up of :-- Doughs and Crusts- Decor and Toppings- Fruit Pies- Custard Pies- Cream， Chiffon & Cold Set Pies- Savoury Pies The measurements are converted already into grams and cups， 5☆ A Mouthwatering Baking Book。。。。 A Pie Lovers Must Read！ Oh wow oh wow is this one Tummy Rumbling Book！ A Pie Lovers Idea of Heaven。 There is so， so many pies， variations， Fillings， Crusts， Designs， it was a complete eye opener to me。 Some I have never even heard of but I can't wait to try them！The Chapters are made up of :-- Doughs and Crusts- Decor and Toppings- Fruit Pies- Custard Pies- Cream， Chiffon & Cold Set Pies- Savoury Pies The measurements are converted already into grams and cups， these are American Recipes so some ingredients you might have to search for equivalents but it will be worth it when you discover how delicious the pies are！Oh and I am over the moon to say there is photographs！ Admitted there isn't anywhere near as many as I would of liked but there is a fair amount。 This book literally has everything。 The Author is super talented， every little detail explained and thought about。 Even down to pairing up pie crusts， with fillings and decorations。The Author even has detailed explanations of the utensils needed， the difference between pie dishes， how to freeze pies and store them。No stone has been left unturned with this book。 Whether you are a novice Baker or an advanced there is something for everyone。Thank you to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishers for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily。 。。。more
Alden
，
At first I thought presenting recipes with weights in grams was a little weird — like， a gram is so small， do I really have to precisely measure 113 of them？ But the more recipes I try， the more I like just tossing stuff into the bowl until the weight is correct （within a couple significant figures， of course）。And， so far， every pie is awesome。
DK Simoneau
，