
When fall comes around, pies are one of the best desserts you can bring to the table, whether you are opting for pumpkin or the fruitier flavors from apples, pears and cranberries. The crust is usually the most difficult part for most cooks, but once you have mastered the dough-making technique (or have broken down and purchased ready made-dough), the job is only halfway done. The second challenge is to make the crust look presentable. Fortunately, there are a couple of gadgets that can help. One is a lattice cutter, which can simply be pressed down into the dough to punch out a traditional-looking, although not actually interwoven, lattice top for your pie. If you want to make your lattice a little more creative, you can opt for the new oak-leaf lattice cutter, instead. The other thing that will really spruce up your pie is a set of piecrust cutters, which punch out little seasonal shapes from your dough. They can be used to create vents in the top layer of the crust or you can punch out shapes from the unused scraps of crust and use them to decorate the surface of the pie.














