Nothing beats the smell of a fresh baked pie! We recommend using in season fruits and vegetables to make the tastiest pies. Make strawberry, blackberry, and raspberry pies in the summer; and apple pies in the fall! Preheat the oven to the temperature the recipe you are following recommends. Most fruit pies bake at a temperature of between 350 degrees and 450 degrees. Some recipes ask to place the pie into a 450 degree oven, then to turn the oven down to about 350 degrees after a few minutes. This is recommended in order to set the shape of the crust in recipes that contain a lot of fat; it will keep your crust from slouching.

Baking a pie with a raw fruit filling will take at least 30 minutes total cooking time. Berry, apple, and pear pies cook for approximately 45 minutes. When using a pre-cooked filling, the pie will normally bake at a higher temperature for a shorter period of time in order to thoroughly bake the crust and heat the filling up. To check the doneness of the filling, insert a knife into the center of the pie. If it meets with little or no resistance, the pie is done. To check the doneness of the crust, insert a knife into the crust. If you feel the knife puncture the crust when it is inserted, the crust is done. If the pie is not quite done but the top or edges are becoming too dark, loosely cover the top of the pie with aluminum foil to shield it from the heat.

Once the pie is done cooking, carefully remove it from the oven. As the pie cools, the filling will settle and the top will flatten out a bit. Letting the pie cool to room temperature will also help the pie slices hold their shape when served.