How to Make a Super-Cute Puppy Bowl Pie

We got creative with pie dough (and a pasta maker!) to bake this game-day treat.

January 31, 2020

By: Helen Nugent

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Photo By: Doug Miller

A Puppyfied Pie

When you're celebrating the big game this year don't forget the tune into the cuter, fluffier game too — the Puppy Bowl! We thought it would be fun to create a pie for the occasion — pie dough is a great vehicle for a fun design like this one. Here's how you can make one too. With these handy tips, we promise the execution won't be ... ruff. 😊

Watch the Video: Puppy Bowl Pie

Get Creative with Colorful Dough

We used three flavors of dough to create this pie — matcha, chocolate and a regular plain dough. Experiment with mixing a bit of matcha powder or cocoa powder into your pie dough recipe to get the same effect — you may find you have to adjust amount of flour use, depending on the recipe. The matcha taste is very subtle once baked, but makes the perfect green "field" color without having to resort to coloring.

Choose a Not-So Chunky Filling

You can make this pie with a rectangular tart pan and whatever your favorite filling and pie dough (try this one, which is forgiving and good for decorations) and filling. We chose apples for this version, but you want it to have a smooth, flat top so that the letters and decorations stay in place during baking. For this reason, instead of cutting the apples into chunks or segments, we peeled, cored and then thinly sliced them to a 1/8-inch thickness.

And Use a Precooked Filling

When creating a very detailed pie like this one, it helps to use a pre-cooked filling. Here, precooking our apples softens them and thickens the filling. This helps to eliminate the excess liquid that can give your pie a soggy bottom, and also keeps the apples from shrinking in the oven and distorting the top of your pie. Make sure that your filling is completely cooled before adding it to the shell.

Create Marbleized Dough

Marbleizing pie dough is a great way to add a suprirsing detail to your decoration. We chose to variegate the color of the pug using chocolate and plain dough. To create this look, place quarter-sized chunks of each type o dough together on a lightly floured surface. Using your hands, gently knead the doughs together until they begin to blend. Place the dough ball on a well floured surface and gently roll it out until the colours merge further and you create a marbling effect.

Nail Cute Puppy Wrinkles

To create the wrinkles on the pug, roll thin strips of marbleized dough into thin tubes. Cut a circle for the head and then place the tube in half heart-shaped rows within the circle. Don’t worry too much about making the bottom of each row neat. It will be covered by the pug’s muzzle.

Grab Your Pasta Maker

We made the whiskers for the terrier face with the help of a hand-crank pasta roller. Run a rectangular piece of pie dough through the roller to make it as flat as a lasagna noodle. Then, run it through the spaghetti attachment. Place the dough on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and return it to the refrigerator to chill for about 5 minutes. Cut the dough into the lengths of strips you need for the dog’s face and apply with a small amount of egg wash. After the strips have been applied, you can use a paring knife to 'trim' the dog’s beard if necessary.

Create Frisky Whiskers

The pastry whiskers used on the terrier can be very delicate and should be handled with care. The easiest way to move them around is with a small offet spatula. This will prevent the heat of your hands from softening the dough. If the dough strands do become difficult to work with, simply pop them into the refrigerator for 5 minutes or so.

Add Letters

Using letter cookie cutters is a quick and easy way to personalize any pie. To ensure that your letters are crisp, make sure that your rolled out pie dough is thoroughly chilled before cutting. It is much easier to work with pastry letters when they are chilled. After cutting out the letters, place them on a tray and pop them back into the fridge for a few minutes to firm up beforea dding them to the pie top.

Add a Cute Bow

A pretty chocolate bow adds the finishing touch to the dog with the eye patch. To make the bow, cut a small piece of parchment. Cut two triangular pieces of pastry and place them on the parchment with the tips facing each other. Add a bit of egg wash, and then place a small, rectangular piece of pastry over the spot where the tips meet. Press lightly to adhere. Move the bow on the parchment to the refrigerator to firm up before adding it to the pie.

Finish with Egg Wash Before You Bake

Applying egg wash is a great way to evenly brown your pie. In this case, we did not want the matcha dough to brown in the oven as it would take away from the overall effect, and the chocolate didn't require it to turn brown (obviously!) So we only egg-washed the plain dough elements on this pie. But just know that regardless of whether you apply egg wash or not, colored doughs will always lighten and fade a bit in the oven.