Crust recipes
I am torn between two crust recipes. For the longest time, I thought my recipe using organic palm oil shortening and butter was the way to go. It gets rave reviews and results in a very light and delicate texture.
After what seems like hundreds of tries, I am now coming around to an all butter crust. I can’t argue that the flavor is superior to the hybrid of shortening and butter. And the texture while flaky is a little more sturdy – great for hand pies with pudding or a nut filling. For now, I’m using all butter for mini and hand pies and the Best of Both Worlds dough for whole pies. Both are below. Decisions, decisions…
Best of Both Worlds Pie Dough
For a double crust (divide the recipe in half if you only need one)
3 cups all purpose flour (Cold!)
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 tsp salt
11T shortening, Cold! (You can use no trans fat Crisco or Spectrum organic Palm Oil shortening can be found at Whole Foods)
14 Tablespoons unsalted butter (Cold!)
* cut both of these into small cubes and pieces
1/2 cup ice water
2 teaspoons cider vinegar (just add to the water)
If you have a 12-cup food processor, you can do this recipe all at once. If you’re like me and have a smaller one, then you will need to half it and make two smaller recipes of dough.
Place dry ingredients into food processor and pulse a few times to distribute the salt and sugar. Scatter frozen cubes of butter and shortening on top of the flour.
Pulse in processor for about 1 second each time until the mixture looks like coarse meal. You can take a knife and fluff it around to be sure no large chunks are under the blade. This should be about 6-8 pulses. Once the fat is cut in, add the ice water through the chute about a tablespoon at a time while you continue short pulses. The mixture will not look like cookie dough – it will probably look a little crumbly. Periodically check to see if the dough pinches together. When the dough begins to hold together, turn it out onto saran wrap, form into a ball, wrap and press it into a disc. If you did one large batch, separate the dough into two discs. Refrigerate for an hour or up to two days.
All Butter Pie Crust
For a double crust
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (Cold!)
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter (16T) (frozen and cubed)
3/4 cup ice water (start with a 1/2 cup then add a tablespoon at a time)
Follow the directions above using a food processor.
All crust recipes can be done by hand with a pastry blender if you prefer.
Hi Emily,
Long time no see! I’ve been hearing so much about your blog and was eager to check it out. I’m impressed! Well done!
I was at dinner the other night with your mom and suggested that, if you’re looking for a new challenge, you might try to perfect a tasty (and workable) gluten-free pie crust. There is a growing number of people, like me, who have to eat GF and the commercially made crusts are for the most part inedible, either lacking in taste or so crumbly that they’re unusable. Whole Foods sells a frozen crust that’s pretty good (The Gluten Free Bakehouse) and my husband, who’s a wizard in the kitchen, has come up with a GF flour mixture of his own that’s pretty good so it can be done, but few have mastered it.
I look forward to following your blog and trying some of your recipes. They sound delicious!
TM
Hi, there! What a nice surprise to see you on here! Thanks so much for indulging my pie obsession.
You have such a good point – there is definitely a new challenge waiting with pie recipes for special diets. I could do a post that addresses things like gluten-free, vegan and even just a lower fat version. Gluten free would be the ultimate challenge, though. You’re on! I’ll have to secret shop the Whole Foods crust and then see if I can do better. I hope all is well with you and your family. I hear Ashley is in Germany these days – wow! All the best for a fantastic holiday! -Em
I’ve been trying various combinations of vegetable shortening and butter for crusts. My 97 year old father (a real pie afficionado) said his aunt always used lard and it was the best. Vegetable shortening is pretty nasty stuff, but I have some doubts about the lard. I’ll give it a try and let you know how it goes. Thanks for the blog. I’m a novice and enjoying the challenge. Made a mixed blackberry/mulberry pie using berries from my son’s backyard. It turned out very well. I used half butter and half shortening for that crust.
I so hear you on the quest to find the perfect ratio of fat for pie crust. I had hoped to have a love affair with lard, but after a few tries, I’m not sold. I’ve been using organic palm oil shortening that is non-hydrogenated (but pricey) and it makes me feel a little better about using vegetable oil. I’ll be anxious to hear about your pie making endeavors. Keep in touch and let me know where you land on the crust! And you might need to do a guest post on that blackberry/mulberry pie – sounds fantastic!
Thanks. I also meant to say that I use an egg to replace a couple tablespoons of water in my crusts. I’ve made several lemon meringue pies from my son’s lemons and my sister’s lemons and a couple years ago some coconut cream pies from my own trees. I haven’t tried anything with the guavas yet.