Cooking Class--Week 1

This year I am teaching 4 cooking classes a week during the month of July. On Monday and Tuesday, I teach a 3 hour class. Monday is for ages 13 and up and this year I have 8 girls. On Tuesday the ages are 10-12 and I have 9 girls and boys in that class. Anyway, this was our first week baking together and it was great. I was so proud of everyone! The classes were fun and they did a wonderful job on their pies.

This week we learned the art/science of making a perfect pie crust. The secret to a flakey tender crust is to not over-handle the dough. If you work the dough too much the gluten in the flour starts to develop stronger strands which causes it to become tough when it's baked. Also, a good crust needs layers of fat and flour so that when it bakes, the fat steams creating layers of flakey pockets. So treat your pie dough very tenderly and you'll get that flakey result!

Here's Brandi with her banana cream pie. We learned about making custard and why it's important to temper the eggs--so you don't end up with scrambled egg pie.

These were mini peach blueberry pies with a cinnamon pecan struesel.

We also talked about the difference between sweet and savory and made these double crusted chicken pot pies.

I had a fun time and so far have gotten great geedback from the moms. Thanks everyone!