Pie or dessert bars | peoples choice

[Janet H]

Today I read an article by Leah Eskin (Chicago tribune) lobbying to make fruit bars instead of pie. She proposed that pies could be tough to make and were possibly too goopy; that a more crust : less center ratio might be desirable. The article made some good points and the accompanying recipe for Raspberry Apricot bars looked lovely but I started thinking about her premise. Is less goopy better? Really?

I prefer fruit pies to fruit bars; hands down. The fruit is the star and the crust is a nice compliment - not the other way around. So ...

Are you a filling fan or a crust fan. Which do you prefer: Pie or bar?

 

[Mad Cook]

Today I read an article by Leah Eskin (Chicago tribune) lobbying to make fruit bars instead of pie. She proposed that pies could be tough to make and were possibly too goopy; that a more crust : less center ratio might be desirable. The article made some good points and the accompanying recipe for Raspberry Apricot bars looked lovely but I started thinking about her premise. Is less goopy better? Really?

I prefer fruit pies to fruit bars; hands down. The fruit is the star and the crust is a nice compliment - not the other way around. So ...

Are you a filling fan or a crust fan. Which do you prefer: Pie or bar?

In my world Fruit bars would be a snack to have with a cup of tea or coffee and fruit pie would be pudding (dessert) after a main course for lunch or dinner.

What's not to like about "gloopy" as long as it isn't that nasty slimy gloop you get in canned pie filling?

I bought some white peaches today and some special offer blueberries and I think I've got some pastry in the freezer so I might make a fruit pie tomorrow.

Don't know why she finds pie making scary, it involves a lot less messing about than her raspberry and apricot bars. (Am I the only one who finds her pie "phobia" just a tad disturbing?)

 

[Cheryl J]

PIE!! Fruit pies are my fave desserts, and the goopier, the better. Well, to a reasonable extent. I love a scoop of French vanilla ice cream with fruit pies, and love when the ice cream melts just a little and a bit of it mixes with the fruit in the pie.

My grandmother used to make the best pies - I'd stand on a chair and watch her as she eyeballed the ingredients for her crust. She'd just grab some handfuls of flour, a pinch of this and that....they were flaky goodness every time.

Uh oh....now I want pie. LOL

 

[Andy M.]

I think this will let you know how I feel about PIE!! http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f40/what-is-your-favorite-pie-of-all-time-61586.html#post863490

 

[no mayonnaise]

I didn't think it was a one-or-the-other kind of thing but I'd prefer the bar because it's easier to eat.

 

[Andy M.]

I didn't think it was a one-or-the-other kind of thing but I'd prefer the bar because it's easier to eat.

Given the title of the thread, that's exactly what it is.

 

[Aunt Bea]

I grew up in a family of pie bakers!

We had pie most Sundays and a slice with our breakfast when it was available.

I enjoy them all, peach and blackberry are at the top of the list.

I think pie was more of a staple food years ago than it is today. When people did physical labor and lived in unheated homes they needed and could absorb the extra calories.

Today it is more of a cozy comfort food that I try to avoid!

 

[bakechef]

I think this will let you know how I feel about PIE!! http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f40/what-is-your-favorite-pie-of-all-time-61586.html#post863490

I could have written that post with the exception of shepard's pie, not a fan. I'm going to try rhubarb soon if I can get my hands on some.

 

[bakechef]

Pie, I don't see fruit bars as the same thing at all. I could see making fruit bars for a party or bake sale, but if I'm having a dessert I want PIE!

 

[LPBeier]

Since I am gluten intolerant and have only found one or two crust recipes I like, I prefer my fruit fresh and unadulterated with crusts or toppings.

 

[Whiskadoodle]

Date bars, lemon bars and figgy newtons. Probably some others, are all good.

I think Pie is the best dessert.

 

[Dawgluver]

DH and I don't like pie crust despite both of us growing up in families with amazing pie making skills. We both love the filling though. Bars, depends on the crust. A sugar cookie or graham cracker crust, good stuff.

 

[bakechef]

DH and I don't like pie crust despite both of us growing up in families with amazing pie making skills. We both love the filling though. Bars, depends on the crust. A sugar cookie or graham cracker crust, good stuff.

I almost think that Rob wouldn't care about the filling as long as there was crust. I make an extra thick edge just for him. I like crust too.

 

[Dawgluver]

I almost think that Rob wouldn't care about the filling as long as there was crust. I make an extra thick edge just for him. I like crust too.

I remember as a kid, paying my grandma what I thought was a compliment. I told her that I loved the way her apple pie crust was so nice and soggy.

 

[Cheryl J]

 

[FrankZ]

Two words for you...

Pie. Always.

 

[RPCookin]

Pie!!! Blueberry pie with vanilla ice cream, rhubarb crumble pie with vanilla ice cream, and not so fruity, but Thanksgiving pumpkin pie with 2 generous scoops of whipped cream.... Them's real desserts.

Fruit bars would be easy to put in a brown bag lunch or take on a picnic, but not so much for a sit down dinner.

 

[Kayelle]

DH and I don't like pie crust despite both of us growing up in families with amazing pie making skills. We both love the filling though. Bars, depends on the crust. A sugar cookie or graham cracker crust, good stuff.

I'm with you yet again Dawg. I haven't had a piece of pie that's knocked my socks off since my Mom died so many years ago. Maybe it's just pure nostalgia but her pie crust was perfection long gone. She made her super flaky and tender crust with lard and it had the right amount of salt to make it so flavorful. I've given up trying, besides I don't bake anymore.

I do like bars with either a graham cracker or shortbread crust.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Today I read an article by Leah Eskin (Chicago tribune) lobbying to make fruit bars instead of pie. She proposed that pies could be tough to make and were possibly too goopy; that a more crust : less center ratio might be desirable. The article made some good points and the accompanying recipe for Raspberry Apricot bars looked lovely but I started thinking about her premise. Is less goopy better? Really?

I prefer fruit pies to fruit bars; hands down. The fruit is the star and the crust is a nice compliment - not the other way around. So ...

Are you a filling fan or a crust fan. Which do you prefer: Pie or bar?

The filling in pies, for me need to be firm enough not to run out of the pie slice, and all over my plate. That being said, I love the crust of a properly made pie almost as much as I love the fruit, custard, or savory fillings.

A desert bar is like eating a cookie. It's an alright snack, not a desert.

The closest thing I can get to a fruit bar is a dump cake, or cobbler. They are like a hybrid of the two, not as crust heavy as either a pie, or fruit bar, but enough "crust to satisfy my desire for a soft/crunchy texture to go with the filling.

Another thing I like about pie is that the crust is mildly salty, with an almost nutty flavor, and perfectly compliments the intense fruit flavor.

Pies rule. And the crust is easier than most people want to believe.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Somebunny]

Pie!!! It's my favorite dessert especially since I am not a cake fan. IMO fruit bars and pie (fruit or otherwise) are not interchangeable.