Anxiety Baking and Pie Tools

Have you see the Stephen Colbert bit about "Anxiety Baking"? It's a thing, and in the past few years, I've found that baking really is an excellent antidote for feelings of anxiety.

During the holidays in particular, I get anxious about all kinds of things that are part and parcel of the season... finding gifts, for example, or the inevitability of holiday celebrations actually happening on a certain day that cannot be delayed or avoided. For me, anxiety is not "whirling thoughts" or worrying with my mind. My anxiety is a physical feeling of doom that starts in the chest area. It feels like an unpleasant alarm going off deep inside, indicating something vague yet inexorably awful. It often comes out of nowhere--gah! Does that ever happen to you?

So I collect coping mechanisms. A quiet moment and a cup of tea can be nice. I do guided meditations sometimes. A long vigorous run on a Sunday afternoon can rebalance my chemistries. I make lists or write in my journal. And making pie can also be quite soothing. There's something very present about baking a pie that confuses the anxiety--plus there's the promise of a treat at the end.

Do you like to bake pies? And what kind of pie equipment do you have? I've started a small collection of pie tools, myself. Here's a tour:



This red thing is a pie crust shield. It can be adjusted to fit over any size pie.

For instance, here is a defenseless apple pie about to go into the oven. WILL THE CRUST COOK TOO SOON AND BURN?

 

No! Simply apply the pie shield around the crust and, as the shield says, "Tan Don't Burn." I like to put it on a few minutes into baking so the perky crust does not get squished down by the pie shield.

Look, it works!

This is my silicone rolling mat, which I like much better than rolling out pie dough on the counter (my previous method). It has concentric circles for measuring the diameter of your crust, though it's hard to see the measurements when they're covered with flour. I do enjoy this mat though. It's larger than a Silpat (the silicone mat that can go on the bottom of a baking sheet in lieu of parchment paper).

This handy device, the Apple Machine, lets you peel a pies-worth of apples in about 5 minutes (I borrowed it from a family member). Simply clamp to a table or countertop, impale an apple on the center arm, and turn the crank to peel the apple with a curved blade.

The blade creates an interesting corduroy texture on the apples. Then core and cut up for your pie.

Two recent pies: apple pie and pumpkin pie.




This is a mock apple pie filled with Ritz crackers and containing NO APPLES. I entered it in this year's pie contest at work (it did not win, but came close). People did not believe it had no apples because it really does taste like apple pie. PS it is 100% not gluten free.

Share about your pies and pie equipment below! And if this is an anxious time for you, I'm sending you a big Internet hug right now.