Freezing pies?

[mamadelbosque]

So, I'm throwing my dad a surprise 50th b-day party in a couple weeks and was thinking I'd just get a big sheet cake... but I've recently been reminded that he actually prefers pies. And as he's going on a bike ride/vacation for a week right before (leaving this thursday night/friday morning gets back next thursday night, party on sunday), I'm thinking I might just bake a couple pies a day and stick them in my freezer, if I can...

So.. can I freeze pies? If so, is it better to freeze them before they're cooked or afterwards? For reference these would be blueberry, blackberry, strawberry, peach and apple pies. And maybe a couple pumpkin. If they're frozen cooked, how long does the average pie take to dethaw? How long would the be "good" for in a refrigerator?? If its best to freeze them before you cook them, should I dethaw them and THEN bake, or can I just pop them in the oven straight from the freezer??

LOTS and LOTS of thanks in advance!!

[kittyhead]

i freeze pies all the time. i just assemble the pie, and freeze it unbaked. then, when i want to cook it, i put it straight from the freezer to the oven... just like a frozen pie you would buy at the grocery store.

ive done apple and berry pies, but i dont know what freezing would do to the texture of something like pumpkin. for pumpkin i would probably just freeze unbaked crusts and then fill and bake.

i have a friend with an apple tree who makes about 50 pies every fall and fills her freezer. she gives them away for christmas presents and they are awesome.

[kiwiva]

I have frozen pumpkin pies after baking and they were just fine when thawed.

[mrs joe bubby]

Originally Posted by mamadelbosque

For reference these would be blueberry, blackberry, strawberry, peach and apple pies. And maybe a couple pumpkin.

I'll be right over! :

Fruit pies freeze well, suggest freezing before baking though. They come out very well that way. You don't need to thaw before baking.

[cristeen]

Freeze fruit pies before baking, and any egg-containing pies like pumpkin after baking. Meringue pies get frozen without the meringue, and cream pies shouldn't be frozen at all.

Unbaked frozen pies should NOT be thawed before baking - you'll get a soggy crust. Take them directly from freezer to hot oven and add maybe 10 minutes to baking time (but watch the crust for burning).

[Liquesce]

Definitely before baking. My dad buys a lot of bakery markdown pies and freezes them ... they're good, but the bottom crust definitely does get a little soggy in the thawing.

[tankgirl73]

I froze some apple and some blueberry pies last fall and ate them all winter. They were yummy!

I froze unbaked. The only difference I made to my usual recipe was to sprinkle flour in the bottom of the shell before adding the fruit, and added more flour than usual in the filling, since freezing and thawing releases more moisture.

Straight to the oven from the freezer. 10-15 minutes additional cooking time. Cook till it's done lol.

Oh, and I used tin pie plates rather than my usual nice glass ones, because I didn't want those gone for the winter! I froze them on a solid cookie sheet, (because the tin pans are too flexible) then put into freezer bags.

I wondered if I'd be able to freeze them in the glass pans, then pop them out once frozen and store like that. But I worry about my pans cracking (I've had very bad luck using glass for freezing anything) and about not being able to get it out (like, the crust folds over the lip of the pan creating a solid lock!)