NEW, 8-Slice Pie Cutter Press, 18/8 Gauge Stainless Steel, Commmercial Grade, Side-Handles

Product Information

This may be a small tool, but it’s been made to last a lifetime. Wash and dry it by hand to preserve the olivewood handle. We did notice that the wood seemed a little dry straight out of the box and a little mineral oil rubbed into the handle might help extend its life.

From fruit pies like apple pie, cherry pie, peach pie, and blueberry pie; to rich and smooth cream pies like French silk pie, pumpkin pie, banana cream pie, and cheesecake pie…This useful kitchen tool is known by three different names. The official name is “pastry blender," for the job it was originally designed to perform. Other names you may hear it referred to are “dough blender” and “pastry cutter" (although these are technically inaccurate). What can a pastry blender do? It can cut butter into pastry dough, mix biscuits (like Copycat Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits) or cookie dough, smash up ground beef into pieces in a hot pan, mash cooked potatoes, and even help make good guacamole. It can mix a streusel topping, chop whole canned plum tomatoes into smaller pieces for a spaghetti sauce, dice boiled eggs for an egg salad, and blend the ingredients for hummus. All this recipe testing, photographing, and filming video tutorials means that I have made a LOT of pies!

Using a pastry blender keeps your hands cleaner, and it also doesn't add as much heat to the ingredients as your warm hands might. But the most important reason is that pastry blender helps to evenly incorporate the fat into the dough, ensuring a lighter, flakier pie crust. We used this fluted pastry wheel to cut strips of dough for a lattice-top pie, and were impressed with the durability of the cutter overall and the stability of the wheel itself. There wasn't any excessive wobbling of the wheel while cutting, and it rolled cleanly through chilled pie dough without needing to push too hard into the dough. It's also easy to control to keep it cutting straight, which is ideal for people who prefer to free-cut their dough instead of using a straight edge as a guide. This is my favorite, tried-and-true pie crust. It’s buttery, flaky, and holds its shape in the oven. But if you prefer an all butter pie crust or want to use store-bought dough, that’s fine too. It’s time for another pie pep talk! Like I mentioned before, the hardest part about working with homemade pie dough is actually mustering up the courage to work with homemade pie dough. It’s easy to resist something if it intimidates you, but something (anything!) has to start somewhere, right? Such is the case with nearly any goal or dream we have. You’llpractice, it will feel daunting, you’ll practice some more, you’ll improve, you’ll succeed. YOU CAN DO THIS! The Spring Chef Dough Blender earned the top spot on this list thanks to its solid performance, ease of use, and comfortable handle. To perfectly blend together pasta doughs, we recommend the Gorilla Grip Pastry Dough Blender and Butter Cutter.

I love making pie. You know this. But I didn’t just wake up one day and know how to make one. My first attempts at homemade pie weren’t exactly cookbook cover-worthy. You want to know the hardest part of making a homemade pie? The hardest part is finding the courage to start. And once you do, you’ll wonder why you didn’t begin sooner.Nothing is more satisfying than making a pie completely from scratch. Until, of course, you eat a slice. Essentially, you're getting two reliable pastry cutters for the price of one with this tool, and we think it's a great deal. Since our initial tests, this cutter has come in handy on a few occasions when testing out different pie crust styles. We like that it hasn't gone down in quality with use, noting that the wheels are about the same level of tightness as they were right out of the box, and the materials have stayed sturdy and shiny over time with regular hand-washing. This pie-decorating method is different from the others because you’re going to add the decorative pie crust topping to a fully baked and cooled pie, such as brownie pie or chocolate chess pie, rather than an unbaked pie. The pictured pie is my favorite pumpkin pie. Here’s what you need to make this pie crust design: From stainless steel to food-safe plastic, browse through the range of cutters to see all your options. Stainless steel cookie cutters are usually sharper and can create a more defined finish, but plastic and rubber options are often great if you’re planning to bake with the kids. Baking a pie? No problem Always take your time when working with pie dough. It’s not a race! Treat the dough with a little TLC. You are not angry at the pie dough (but maybe you are LOL). Don’t roll it out too forcefully or rush through a decorative topping. Set aside enough time to really concentrate on it. Put on some music or invite some friends or family to join you, and enjoy the process. I promise it’s worth it!

Karen Resta, the original author of this roundup, is a writer specializing in food culture and history, cooking, pastries, and restaurants. She's also a former pastry chef and has traveled to Budapest, Kyiv, and Paris during their fashion weeks as a photographer and writer, always finding the best authentic pastries along the way. She now spends a lot of her free time baking at home and recommends quality within your given budget. Having the right tools available and knowing how to use them well (it can take practice, like anything else) makes all the difference, and she curated this list with that in mind.This set of four very different leaf designs provides the perfect embellishment for pies in any season. The cutters can be used to imprint on dough or to cut shaped, detailed leaves to add to pie crusts. The punches were so easy to use, that they ended up being one of our favorite ways to get creative with our pie crusts. It is a little heavier than other cutters, so it may not be ideal for those with limited hand strength. But the curved wooden handle is easy to hold onto and the weight is what helps push the cutter through the dough. It can be washed in the dishwasher if it's especially messy after use, but should be washed by hand and scrubbed with a brush and warm, soapy water to extend the life of the wood handle. We liked that the cutter was especially easy to use, on par with a cookie cutter. The crust cutter is constructed in the shape of a flower, but the fluted outer edge is just a decorative way to hold the petal shapes of the cutter together and doesn't actually cut through the dough. The cutouts can be used to decorate the top of the crust in addition to the decorative vents the cutter makes. This sunflower cutter is easy enough to use for little hands, making your next pie-making session a little more fun for everyone. Once cut, the lattice will expand to cover the width of the pie, but the length will stay the same. Plan accordingly, by making sure your dough is as long as you need it to be to cover the surface of your pie, although it only needs to be about half as wide. We found the lattice easy to stretch over the pie with attractive results, but don't worry if it takes one or two attempts to master.