One of our favorite pies in last month's great Best Pie Bakeoff was Deb's Cherry Berry Pie, and this was partly because of her creative use of pie dough cut-outs to create a top crust.

We like doing this too; in fact, we look forward to making our fancy shapes at the end of filling our pie crust! It's the fun part.

Deb's pie, pre-baking.

Deb's pie, after baking.

Here are a few tips for making pie cut-outs.

• Make sure your dough is well chilled. Even if it's chilled enough to get into a pie pan, it may not be stiff enough to roll out again and cut into fancier shapes.

• Cut the shapes to an even thickness so they bake evenly.

• Use large cookie cutters to cut out shapes; we've found that smaller shapes bake faster and often will brown before your pie is finished baking.

• Cover the top with foil to keep the pie shapes from browning, once they've baked.

• Don't forget your egg or milk wash; brushing these with beaten egg or a little milk will help them get shiny and golden.

And if you have too many cut-outs to use, make these Apple Cinnamon Mini-Tarts!

What are your favorite shapes for pie crust cut-outs? Any more pretty pie pictures to show us?

Related: Best Pie Tip: Brush the Crust with Egg

(Images: Reader Deb; Faith Durand)