Things to do with refrigerated pie crust

I recently posted on Facebook that I was making Cinnamon Sugar pie crust, and I was surprised by the response I got, so I thought I would share it with you!  When I was little, my mom would buy Pilsbury refrigerated pie crust, roll it out onto a cookie sheet, sprinkle it with cinnamon and sugar and bake it.  It was such a treat for us, and it was so easy and cheap for mom!  Talk about the best of both worlds!  Now that I am a mom, I love simple recipes that seem like a special treat for my family, but are shockingly simple for me to make. I really love spending the day in the kitchen baking, but let's be honest...after spending my day chasing little ones and taking care of the house and meals, sometimes I just don't have the time or the energy to whip something up from scratch.  And honestly, sometimes the quick, semi-homeade stuff is just as good as something that I spent 2 hours on!  This is one of them.  I prefer to use the store brand (around here it is Food Club) because it is actually lighter and flakier than the name brand. Of course it would be amazing with pie crust from scratch, but after it comes out of the oven, it will be gone in 3.2 seconds...so I don't think anyone would even be able to tell it wasn't scratch crust! But, if you insist, Pioneer Woman has a great pie crust recipe that you should give a whirl.  Back to business.  I apologize for the lack of pictures, but when I made this last night, we inhaled it so quickly I didn't even have time to turn my camera on.  The packages come with 2 crusts, so let's do it this two ways. :)

Cinnamon Sugar Pie Crust
1 refrigerated pie crust
Cinnamon
Sugar

Remove crust from refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 425*.  Unroll the pie crust onto a baking sheet, and get it to lay flat. sprinkle a little cinnamon on it-I didn't measure these, because I just sprinkle however much I want on there.  It really doesn't take much though.  Then sprinkle with sugar.  You want enough to give it a sugary crunch, but you don't want to over power it, either.   Pop it in the oven and bake it until golden brown.  I think it took mine 15 minutes or so, just keep your eye on it.  No one likes a burned dessert!  Cut it into triangles like a pizza (how many you get, is determined by how big you cut them.)

My husband and I can easily demolish a whole one by ourselves right out of the oven! I'm somewhat ashamed to say that, but it's so delicious that I don't even care.  Sometimes we just eat it as is because we don't have time to decide what to top it with due to the fact that we already inhaled 1/2 of it.  But it is SO good topped with vanilla ice cream, and drizzled with caramel and chocolate sauce.  Don't be ashamed if you find yourself licking your plate.  I'm sure you won't be the first...or the last.


Strawberry Shortcake Pie
1 refrigerated pie crust
sugar
strawberries
fresh whipped cream (can use cool whip)

Wash and stem strawberries.  Cut them into the desired size, and sprinkle with sugar.  For one pound, about 3-5 tbsp sugar should be plenty. Stir, and set aside for about 30 minutes.  They will give off a delicious juice.  If you want to get fancy, splash a little balsamic vinegar in there as well...I never do, because the sugar and strawberries keep a wonderful fresh, simple flavor that, in my opinion, can't be beat. Remove crust from refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 425*. Unroll the pie crust onto a baking sheet, and get it to lay flat. (At this point you can use cookie cutters to cut individual pieces, or bake in one piece to cut later.  If you do cut it before, just make sure the pieces are not touching each other on the baking sheet.)  Sprinkle with desired amount of sugar, and bake until golden.  Just keep an eye on it.  Sometimes it bakes more quickly than others, especially if it is already cut into individual pieces.   Remove from oven, cut (if you haven't done so already) and top individually with strawberries (don't forget to add some of the delicious syrup the sugar created) and whipped cream.

For the fresh whipped cream, pour desired amount of heavy whipping cream into a bowl.  Beat with a mixer to incorporate some air.  Once it starts to come together just a bit, add powered sugar.  Beat until peaks form when you pull you mixer out of cream.  (be sure to turn it off first though! ;)) Don't over mix, or it will become like butter...not fluffy and light like it should be!  For 1 1/2 cups of cream, you will need about 1/4 c powdered sugar.  I never make that much, because the cream will about tripple in volume from what you initially poured into the bowl.

Go forth, bake easy desserts, and make your family's tastebuds happy!