Foolproof pie maker cooking hacks from The Australian Women’s Weekly’s Food Editor

From the Sodastream, to the NutriBullet and the Thermomix, it’s no secret Australians have long had an obsession with nifty kitchen gadgets.

And really, is there anything better than a cool new cooking device? It’s the perfect way to spice up your cooking habits and branch out into new territory.

Now, Australia has a new kitchen device obsession – the humble pie-maker.

What exactly is a pie maker, you ask?

“A pie maker is a nifty new gadget making it easier than ever to create homemade pies,” says The Australian Women’s Weekly’s resident Food Editor Frances Abdallaoui.

“They’re easy to use and for many cooks are a game changer in the kitchen.”

Now we’ve created a cookbook designed specifically to fuel your pie maker obsession, The Australian Women’s Weekly The Pie Maker.

It’s jam-packed full of quick and easy recipes for pastry pies, as well as a host of clever creations you’d never expect, including mac and cheese bites, muffins, scones, bacon and eggs, fritters and pancakes that are perfect for the whole family.

We asked our Food Editor Fran to answer all our burning questions about this nifty new kitchen device, including her top tips for getting the most of of your pie-maker at home.

Why do you think the pie maker trend has taken off so much?

Australians have always had a love affair with pies. Up until now, the only thing standing in the way of creating a decent pie for many cooks, was the sizeable chunk of time required to make them and fear of failure.

The real game changer for the pie-loving cook, aside from the accessibility of good-quality ready-made pastry sheets, is the proliferation of affordable pie-making machines.

What are your favourite pie maker brands?

There many different pie makers available. One of the most popular-sized machine makes 1/3 cup (80ml) pies, however there are also machines for larger ¾ cup (180ml) pies, and even those that produce a single 2½ cup (625ml) family sized pie!

In our test kitchen, we tested using pie makers from both Kmart and Sunbeam.

What are the types of foods aside from traditional pastry pies that can be made in a pie-maker?

Lunchbox fillers, breakfast, sweet and savoury treats are all possibilities in a pie maker.

These little gems of convenience cook all sorts of ingenious foods such as pizzas, scrolls, mini hot dogs, fish cakes, fritters and even another national favourite, the mini pavlova. All are possibilities in a pie maker.

Any tips for how to avoid your ingredients sticking to the pan?

The pie maker itself uses a non-stick cooking plate, but by lightly greasing the pie maker, this should limit ingredients sticking to the pan.

WATCH BELOW: How to make melting moments. Story continues after video.

Any go-to recipes you’d recommend for beginners?

All of our recipes are easy to follow, but to begin with you could try our Smoky Chicken & Corn Pies (page 10) or our Easy Apple Pies (page 52).

Both take less than 20 minutes and use minimal ingredients.

*The Australian Women’s Weekly’s The Pie Maker cookbook is now available to purchase online.**