You see, I'm a freak of nature late night baker, so this shouldn't be surprising. But, pie crust and I have always had a strained relationship. It's one of those things where we've always agreed to disagree and leave it at that. Until....I browsed the Pioneer Woman's site a few days ago and found a reader recipe for a Perfect Pie Crust--the title says it's perfect! It has a ton of pretty pictures! And it's on the Pioneer Woman! What could go wrong?
Unsuspecting looking filling
I usually tear my crust to bits before I can get it into any sort of pan. This is a good sign!
Bottom crust and filling...the kitchen is starting to smell good
Let's all say one last prayer before it goes into the oven...
Aaannnd, done!
Thankfully, not much went wrong. My coworkers enjoyed the pie (or so they said), and the crust was delightfully flaky. Pre-baking, dough was a lot sloppier than what I am used to because of the extra liquid used (5 T water, 1 T vinegar, 1 egg). Freezing helped, and I had to make sure I picked up the crust completely off the counter frequently when rolling it (thank you Martha Stewart), so it wouldn't stick and become a sloppy mess.
Sylvia's Perfect Pie Crust (On The Pioneer Woman, submitted by Sylvia)
Ingredients
1-½ cup Crisco (vegetable Shortening)
3 cups All-purpose Flour
1 whole Egg
5 Tablespoons Cold Water
1 Tablespoon White Vinegar
1 teaspoon Salt
Preparation Instructions
In a large bowl, with a pastry cutter, gradually work the Crisco into the flour for about 3 or 4 minutes until it resembles a coarse meal. In a small bowl, beat an egg with a fork and then pour it into the flour/shortening mixture. Add 5 tablespoons of cold water, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir together gently until all of the ingredients are incorporated.
Separate the dough into thirds. Form 3 evenly sized balls of dough and place each dough into a large Ziploc bag. Using a rolling pin, slightly flatten each ball of dough (about ½ inch thick) to make rolling easier later. Seal the bags and place them in the freezer until you need them. (If you will be using it immediately it’s still a good idea to put in the freezer for about 15 to 20 minutes to chill.)
When you are ready to use the dough to make a crust, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw for 15 minutes. On a floured surface roll the dough, starting at the center and working your way out. (Sprinkle some flour over top of the dough if it’s a bit too moist.) If the dough is sticking to the countertop use a metal spatula and carefully scrape it up and flip it over and continue rolling until it’s about ½ inch larger in diameter than your pie pan.
With a spatula, lift the dough carefully from the surface of the counter into the pie pan. Gently press the dough against the corner of the pan. Go around the pie pan pinching and tucking the dough to make a clean edge.
1-½ cup Crisco (vegetable Shortening)
3 cups All-purpose Flour
1 whole Egg
5 Tablespoons Cold Water
1 Tablespoon White Vinegar
1 teaspoon Salt
Preparation Instructions
In a large bowl, with a pastry cutter, gradually work the Crisco into the flour for about 3 or 4 minutes until it resembles a coarse meal. In a small bowl, beat an egg with a fork and then pour it into the flour/shortening mixture. Add 5 tablespoons of cold water, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir together gently until all of the ingredients are incorporated.
Separate the dough into thirds. Form 3 evenly sized balls of dough and place each dough into a large Ziploc bag. Using a rolling pin, slightly flatten each ball of dough (about ½ inch thick) to make rolling easier later. Seal the bags and place them in the freezer until you need them. (If you will be using it immediately it’s still a good idea to put in the freezer for about 15 to 20 minutes to chill.)
When you are ready to use the dough to make a crust, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw for 15 minutes. On a floured surface roll the dough, starting at the center and working your way out. (Sprinkle some flour over top of the dough if it’s a bit too moist.) If the dough is sticking to the countertop use a metal spatula and carefully scrape it up and flip it over and continue rolling until it’s about ½ inch larger in diameter than your pie pan.
With a spatula, lift the dough carefully from the surface of the counter into the pie pan. Gently press the dough against the corner of the pan. Go around the pie pan pinching and tucking the dough to make a clean edge.
***
Blackberry Peach Filling (From Bobby Flay on the Food Network website; I omitted the alcohol in this recipe because it was about 10 pm before I got around to mixing it up and I didn't feel like going to the store. C'est la vie.)
3 pounds mixed yellow and white peaches, peeled, pitted, sliced about 1/2-inch thick
1/3 to 1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/3 to 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground fresh nutmeg
2 tablespoons peach eau de vie
1/4 cup cornstarch or tapioca
1 cup fresh blackberries
2 tablespoons cassis
2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
2 to 3 tablespoons heavy cream
2 to 3 tablespoons turbinado sugar
1/3 to 1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/3 to 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground fresh nutmeg
2 tablespoons peach eau de vie
1/4 cup cornstarch or tapioca
1 cup fresh blackberries
2 tablespoons cassis
2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
2 to 3 tablespoons heavy cream
2 to 3 tablespoons turbinado sugar
this looks beautiful--i'm going to try my hand at pie crust this weekend!
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