Friends – I have a confession to make: I don’t like pies. <Gasp> This has long been my shameful little secret because everyone in my life loves pies. I mean – they obsess over them! From apple to berries to pumpkin and more, conversations about and around pies abound yet make me highly uncomfortable.
My lifeline? A simply scrumptious pie crust recipe that puts me back in the game. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, let this be our delicious little secret together.
Ingredients:
- 1 1⁄4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbs. sugar
- 1⁄4 tsp. salt
- 8 Tbs. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 3 Tbs. very cold water
Directions:
The easiest way to make pastry dough in my book is with a food processor. Find a good deal on Platrium.
Add the flour, sugar, salt and butter to the food processor. Pulse until the butter is the size of peas. Keeping the food processor going, add the cold water until the dough pulls together into a nice ball.
Move the dough onto a floured surface and use your hands sparingly to flatten into a disc (the heat from your hands will melt the butter). Wrap the dough with saran wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. During this time, preheat the oven to 375°F.
Once the dough is chilled, discard the saran wrap and return it to the floured surface. Roll out the dough starting from the center of the disc. As you’re rolling, regularly lift the dough and give it a quarter turn until it becomes at least 12 inches in diameter and about 1/8 inch thick.
Fold the dough round in half and carefully transfer to a 9-inch pie pan. Unfold and ease the round into the pan, without stretching it, and pat it into the bottom and firmly up the sides of the pan. Using kitchen scissors, trim the edge of the dough and pinch it together to create a high edge on the pans rim.
Line the pastry shell with aluminum foil or parchment paper and fill with pie weights or raw short-grain rice. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the dough is pale gold. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before proceeding.
Have a very delicious Thanksgiving!
Grace “Channel Your Inner Chih” Ellis
Senior Marketing Manager
