“The holidays are all about gathering around the table with family and friends,” said Maribeth Burns, Vice President, Corporate Communications, The J.M. Smucker Company. “For the last decade, the Crisco Pie & Baking Hotline experts have been there to help make seasonal baking a little easier and offer advice to wow guests with delicious desserts.”

According to a recent Crisco survey, conducted by Toluna¹, 52% of those surveyed think the hardest part of baking a pie is making the crust from scratch followed by knowing exactly how long to bake it (20%) and perfecting the filling (18%). Baking from scratch doesn’t have to be a guessing game! The experts at the Crisco Pie & Baking Hotline offer guidance, inspiration and simple tips to ensure home bakers create delicious desserts this holiday season.  Along with its new online chat, the hotline offers a Spanish version, as well as tips and tricks from popular baking bloggers Jamie Lothridge from My Baking Addiction, and Yvette Marquez from Muy Bueno Cookbook.

Crisco Pie & Baking Hotline Hours of Operation*:

• Live baking experts can be reached year-round, Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET by calling 1-877-367-7438.
• Live experts will be available through online chat at www.piehotline.com during the following days and times:
• November 16 - 25 from (8 a.m. - 7 p.m. ET)
• December 14 - 23 from (8 a.m. - 7 p.m. ET)
• Extended calling hours are also offered:
• November 16 - 25 (8 a.m. - 8 p.m. ET)
• December 14 - 23 (8 a.m. - 7 p.m. ET)

*Please note: Live experts are not available on Thanksgiving Day, the Friday after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

For more information about the Crisco Pie & Baking Hotline or for additional tips, recipes and how-to videos, visit www.piehotline.com.  Join the Crisco community on Facebook at Facebook.com/Crisco or on Pinterest at Pinterest.com/criscorecipes.

¹Survey conducted by Toluna; September 2015; 1000 participants

About The J.M. Smucker Company

For more than 115 years, The J.M. Smucker Company has been committed to offering consumers quality products that bring families together to share memorable meals and moments. Today, Smucker is a leading marketer and manufacturer of consumer food and beverage products and pet food and pet snacks in North America with annual net sales of approximately $8 billion. In consumer foods and beverages, its brands include Smucker’s^®, Folgers^®, Jif^®, Dunkin’ Donuts^®, Crisco^®, Pillsbury^®, R.W. Knudsen Family^®, Hungry Jack^®, Café Bustelo^®, Martha White^®, truRoots^®, Sahale Snacks^®, Robin Hood^®, and Bick’s^®. In pet food and pet snacks, its brands include Meow Mix^®, Milk-Bone^®, Kibbles ’n Bits^®, Natural Balance^®, and 9Lives^®. The Company remains rooted in the Basic Beliefs of Quality, People, Ethics, Growth, and Independence established by its founder and namesake more than a century ago. For more information about the Company, visit jmsmucker.com.

The J.M. Smucker Company is the owner of all trademarks referenced herein, except for the following, which are used under license: Pillsbury^® is a trademark of The Pillsbury Company, LLC and Dunkin’ Donuts^® is a registered trademark of DD IP Holder LLC.

Dunkin’ Donuts^® brand is licensed to The J.M. Smucker Company for packaged coffee products sold in retail channels such as grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, and drug stores. This information does not pertain to Dunkin’ Donuts^® coffee or other products for sale in Dunkin’ Donuts^® restaurants.

# # #

Media Contact: Erin Cohen, Cohn & Wolfe
[email protected], 212-798-9721