Pies made with refrigerated pie crust are easy, but follow a few tips to make simple pies even better.

Cleanup. Fruit pies can bubble over in the oven. Line the bottom of your cold oven with heavy-duty foil or a specially made foil oven liner before baking your pie. After baking, cool the oven and remove the foil.

Magically fast . Apple pie on the super-easy side. Use apple pie filling and Pillsbury^® refrigerated pie crusts to make it quick.

Easy topping. Brush the top crust with egg white and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar. Remember to cut small slits in the top crust to let steam escape during baking.

Pie crust weights. When you bake a pie shell without a filling, sometimes the crust can rise up in the center during baking. To keep it down, put a circle of parchment paper on top of the crust and add about a cup of dried beans. Bake the crust with the beans, then pour them out after baking.  

When to bake it. Fruit pies are usually better on the day you bake them because their juicy fillings may make the bottom crust soggy. Some pies—like ice cream pies—are better made ahead of time and left to cool or freeze. They need at least a couple hours in the freezer. Cream pies need extra time to cool and set, so these pies are great choices for a make-ahead dessert.