Marie Callender's Lattice Apple Pie, Ready to Bake Frozen Dessert, 42 oz.

For multiple years have bought even high priced bakery made frut pies )not a cream pie person), as well as supermarket house made versions. Even tried whatever selections restaurants offer. I have even paid $10. for one modest size slice of pie. Dozens of people in my new hometown of Roseville, CA highly recommended to try their favorite homemade pie source in some hole in a wall but popular luncheon cafe. Paying $9. for a few small forkfuls of overly thick crust with "where's the fruit" filling finally convinced me to simple choose Mrs. Callender's frozen pies from now on. Whole pies cost far less than skimpy slices elsewhere. Fruit filling is more generous with better fresher taste and texture. I prefer thinner, flakier pie crusts showcasing the pie filling, not a thick, almost gummy, grainy crust with the bottom still looking underbaked. However, to achieve top and bottom golden brown Mrs. Callender's pie crusts, I actually start at 5 degree temperature below what the box indicates, then bake at least 5 minutes longer, but cover the pie edges with aluminum foil as the edges always bake faster. I hate whitish looking bottom crusts. I do not hesitate to return baked pies if the bottom crust is not as well baked as the top crust, especially if paying more for a slice than the cost of an entire Mrs. Callender's pie.

Brushed with mixture of 1 egg and sugar and, even with a smaller oven, this pie came out perfectly. We did use a tinfoil ring to get a crust that was not overdone, good idea. Lastly, use thermometer to be sure one is fully baked through as oven temps and done-ness times vary widely - or taste test it.... ; )