As the holidays approach, now is the time to plan for holiday meals. If the menu includes pie, make and freeze it now to save time later. Here are some tips from Penn State Extension.
For unbaked pie, it is best to freeze the filling and crust separately for better crust quality later. The filling can be frozen in a freezer bag and placed in a pie pan to get the pie shape. When ready to use, unwrap the frozen filling, place in an unbaked pie crust. Add an extra 20-25 minutes of baking time.
For the crust, make the pie dough and roll into flat circles to freeze. Several pie crusts can be stacked with parchment paper or foil between the layers. Pie dough can also be placed into pie pans and frozen in the pan.
When freezing a whole double-crust pie, do not cut vents in the top crust in an unbaked pie before freezing. Make those cuts just before baking.
Fruit, pecan or pumpkin pie freezes best. Custard, meringue or cream pies do not freeze well. See more tips at Michigan State University Extension and Oregon State University Extension.
