DECORATING THE TOP OF YOUR PIE

You just got done making your pie, and you know that when it is done cooking it is still not going to look as pretty as the pies that you see at restaurants and stores.

If it is a double crust pie, you can make the top more decorative by cutting out shapes with small decorative cookie cutters. There are several different effects that you can get with these cutters. Place the top layer of crust on the pie and seal around the edges.

Take your cookie cutter and gently press into the dough and:

1. Lift the cookie cutter out, leaving the cut out piece in its place. After baking, you will see an outline of the shape.

2. Lift out the piece of dough that you just cut. After baking you will see the pie filling through the hole.

3. Lift out the piece of dough that you just cut and place it next to the hole that you cut. After the pie has baked you will see the pie through the hole and have a raised image next to it.

I will usually do method #3 in a ring around the outside edges, then take one cut out of the middle.