The holidays just aren’t the same without Great-grandma Mary’s famous fruit pies. But as we all know, the holiday season is hectic and sometimes there just isn’t time to make some of our favorite family recipes.
Fortunately, you can make those favorite pies in advance and freeze them. This will save valuable time when you’re in a holiday rush, but still get that long-time family favorite pie on the table, said Barbara Brown, Oklahoma State University Extension food specialist.
“You have a couple of options when it comes to freezing fruit pies. First, you can make the pie and freeze it. It’s best to freeze an unbaked pie to help ensure it has a fresher fruit flavor,” Brown said. “Another option is to freeze the filling and crust separately to prevent fruit juice from penetrating and softening the lower crust during freezing. Freezing the unbaked pie will take up more space in your freezer and ties up that pie pan.”
When freezing the filling and crust separately, put the pre-measured fruit filling for one pie in a large freezer bag and squeeze out all of the air. Cooks also can put the bag of cooled filling into a foil-lined pie pan, shaping it to fit the pan. When it’s frozen, simply remove the filling and the pan is ready for other uses in the kitchen. When the holidays arrive, simply put the frozen filling in a fresh crust. Allow an extra 20 or so minutes for cooking.
For additional information, contact Kristy Spalding at kristy. spalding@okstate.edu or 580-928-2139 for Beckham County Office or 580-832-3356 for Washita County Office.