Things bakers know: Protect your pie in reverse

As the designated Thanksgiving pie baker in my family, I've experienced many highs (severe reviews and empty pie plates) and lows (forgetting to add sugar to the filling and great bakes that never fully baked pumpkin pie filling). But there's a constant problem that rears its head almost every time I bake a pie: how to cook the pie long enough for the filling to set and cook, without burning the crust…

Because pie fillings—especially fruit pies—often take a long time to fully bake, the edges of the crust can brown long before the pie is cooked. Of course, there is a simple tool that can prevent this, aptly named pie crust shield.

Typically made of silicone, this ring is designed to fit over your pie crust, protecting it from the direct heat of the oven. You usually put the shield on your pie at the end of baking, once you see that the crust is getting the right golden brown color, and it will protect the crust from further browning while you wait for the filling to harden completely. (Aluminum foil strips can also be used as a makeshift shield, but we don't recommend it; it's extremely difficult to cover the edges of a pie plate with aluminum strips, and they tend to fall off during baking.)

Blueberry Apple Pie — This method practically guarantees a perfectly golden crust.

The pie shield is awesome. But you know what's not great? Trying to put a pie shield on top of the hot, partially cooked pie crust that's in the oven. Recently, I had a super simple light bulb moment: What if I reversed the process and put the pie shield on at the beginning, when the dough and pie plate were still fresh, then removed it at the end of baking?

By doing this, you can make sure the pie shield is securely attached before the pie pan goes into the oven and handle it easily (because attaching a shield to a partially baked crust while avoiding hot metal piping isn't easy and not even fun). With about 15 minutes left in the baking time, you can remove the pie shield (it's a lot easier to remove a pie shield from a hot pie you've put it on, trust me) and let the crust bake uncovered for achieve the perfect golden color and crispy texture. Plus, it gives you a little extra insurance – you can always add the pie shield back on if it's still browning too quickly (since it's basically impossible to overbake the fruit fillings), but there's no going back if you add that too. late.