Recipe: Freeze Ahead Fruit Pie Filling and Baking Instructions

FROZEN FRUIT PIE FILLING
"To avoid the possibility of fruit juices penetrating and softening the lower crust before a frozen two-crust pie is baked, simply freeze the filling and the crust separately and combine them immediately before baking. I prefer to roll out rounds of dough and freeze them flat between layers of foil. Pie-sized batches of seasonal fruits can be prepared quickly and easily and stored in foil packets molded to the shape of your pie plate. Fruits that freeze especially well are cooking apples, fresh apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums, rhubarb, and berries."

Makes: one 9-inch pie, serves 6 to 8
(Note: Use this recipe as well for deep-dish pie and cobbler fillings.)
Freezing Time: up to 6 months without loss of flavor
Special Equipment: one 12x24-inch square heavy-duty aluminum foil, for each pie

4 to 6 cups fresh fruit-washed, peeled if necessary, hulled or cored, and sliced if necessary
1/2 to 1 cup granulated white or brown sugar (amount depends on type and sweetness of fruit)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, optional
1 to 3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (amount depends on type and flavor of fruit)
3 to 3 1/2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca, or cornstarch (amount depends on juiciness of fruit)*

Toss the prepared fruit with all the remaining ingredients. If using tapioca, let stand for a few minutes to moisten it well and slightly soften it.

Center a foil sheet over a 9-inch pie plate. Mound the fruit on the foil and pat gently to compress the fruit. Fold up the long foil flaps and make a wide double fold, pushing out the excess air. Fold over the side edges and pinch to seal. Label and date the package. Leaving the filling in the pie plate, set it on the fast-freeze shelf of your freezer (if you have one), until the fruit is hard. Remove the pie plate and return the fruit package to the freezer.

TO BAKE:
Line a pie plate with a layer of thawed frozen pastry, brush with freshly made egg glaze (1 egg or egg white beaten with 1 tablespoon water) or fruit preserves. Unwrap the frozen fruit packet (do not thaw) and set it in the pastry. Cut steam vents in the rolled-out top crust. Moisten the edges of the lower crust, then cover the pie with its top crust. Fold the edges of the top crust over the lower one and pinch to seal. Mold the edge into a raised rim and flute. If you wish, glaze the pie top with brushed-on beaten egg and a light sprinkling of granulated sugar.

Bake in the lower third of a preheated 425 degree F oven for 25 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F, raise the pie to the center of the oven, and cover the pastry edges with a foil frame if they seem to be browning too fast. Continue baking for another 30 to 35 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown and the fruit tender.

Serve warm for best texture and flavor.

*Tapioca occasionally presents a problem when used in fruit pies topped by lattice pastry and frozen before baking because the tapioca sometimes does not soften sufficiently and can remain hard after baking. To avoid the problem, use cornstarch thickener for frozen lattice pies.

Used by permission to Recipelink.com from Broadway
Source: The Perfect Pie by Susan G. Purdy