Friday, September 25, 2009

Butter Pie Crust

I had a few requests for my pie crust recipe - I posted it today on my other blog but figured I'd cross-post it here, since, you know, we talk about this kind of stuff here.

Up until recently, I used a pie crust recipe that called for both butter and shortening. And, I thought I was making some great crust. Then a couple months ago I tried this all butter recipe and my dear husband stated that he liked it even better than my usual crust. So, I've made the switch over to using this one. It saves me from having to worry about whether or not I have any shortening. It also saves my body from having to process shortening. I think we're all winning.

Also, I've traditionally been a hands-on crust maker - no food processor, no cutting in with a knife (does that even work?!?). But I've made a switch over to using the food processor, if for no other reason than that it keeps my hands much cleaner. And, I think it might be a tad faster.

Combine 2.5 cups flour, 1 Tbps sugar, and 3/4 tsp salt.
Add in 1 cup of chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes.
Pulse in the processor (or whatever method you like) until a coarse meal forms.
Then add in ice water, a few tablespoons at a time.
Here's where I go rogue. The recipe says 6 tbsp ice water. Here in this dry climate, I usually end up using 10-12 tbsp. Now, some pastry chefs would probably tell me that I make my dough too wet. I have never ever had a problem. The dough is easier to roll out if it's a tad moist. Basically you want enough water so that your dough is clumping and sticking together.

Then, turn it out onto a clean space, form a ball, divide in half, flatten into disks, wrap each in saran wrap, and let chill for at least 30 minutes - 2 hours. Or overnight.

If you are going to use this dough to make pasties (see below), then leave out the sugar.

Mmmm, pie crust. Any dough you don't use can be put onto a baking sheet, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, and baked for 15-ish minutes...and then enjoyed with a class of cold milk.

7 comments:

  1. I'm having a really, really hard time believing that you've improved upon the pie crust recipe that you've made for me in the past. I can't imagine anything better than that. But I certainly like the idea of an all-butter crust! What kind of food processor do you have? What else do you use it for? I've been thinking about getting one for a while but can't decide if I'd use it enough to make it worth it.

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  2. This sounds good. Do you have any pictures you can add?

    Oh, and just letting everyone know, DO NOT do a google image search for pasties... I just made that mistake.

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  3. Oh KReah, I'm so sorry for your google search mistake. I actually wondered if that might happen. But the best picture would probably be from the Cornish Pasty post I put up the other day. That crust is this recipe. And those are what I meant by pasties...

    :)

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  4. Stacy - I can't remember the brand I got, it's a cheap-o one from Target. I think I spent $20-30 on it. It starts with an 'O' Osprey maybe? Is that a brand? I like using it for making pie crust and biscuits, and I've also used it to make dips or breadcrumbs. I'd say on average I use it once or twice a month, though. Kinda depends on if we're having people over, how often I'm making pie, etc. I don't know if you would consider that worth it. I didn't spend much on it, so it's worth it to me. But, it does take up space which we are totally running out of, even in our huge kitchen.

    I tried using it one time to mince a bunch of veggies for marinara, but it just turned them to mush (which I suppose I should have guessed it would).

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  5. Tasty. It sounds like you make a lot of pies! I wish I was around to taste them. I am goin gto have to start making them, this fine fall season. And, I like recipes that put sugar in the crust, especially for chocolate silk pies, etc. For apple pies, sugar is great, but it also taste good to leave the sugar out. Since you put so much in the filling, it makes a nice salty/sweet combination. I just like pie. Pie. Pie . . . mmmm

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  6. I made an apple pie tonight for my family & I tried this recipe. It was a hit! Everyone kept telling me how much they liked the pie and some even said it was my best ever - & I told them I tried a new recipe. It was VERY delish! Thanks for sharing. By the way, I've gotten a lot of good recipes from you over the years. I still make your grandma's salad with craisens and nuts and spring mix and tons of other types of goodness. And I made your banana bread recipe you gave me back as roommates just the other day and adam really loved it. Its still my favorite banana bread recipe.

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  7. This is funny, Becca, because I was just thinking last night that if it weren't for you, I may not have ever discovered my talent for pies. The first pie I ever made was your apple pie recipe. Until then, I thought I hated pie! Little did I know...

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