Easy Flaky Pie Crust

With Thanksgiving around the corner, I thought I share my pie crust recipe. I've adapted this recipe from different recipes I found online. I love this food processor method, because it makes it so easy. You can make this dough way in advance and freeze it and just thaw it out the night before in the fridge. I do want to say that it is extremely important that the dough remain cold. It gets to warm and soft it's hard to handle and when it bakes you won't get the flaky crust. It's vital that it stay cold!

 If you're up to making a pie from scratch this is a great recipe to have in your recipe arsenal. This recipe makes two crusts. It's so easy you'll wonder why you never did this before!

Buen Provecho!!!

Make the crust. Add 2 1/4 cups of flour in a food processor.

Sugar 2-3 Tbsp

1/4 tsp salt

2 sticks of very very cold butter. In fact I used frozen butter. Cut it into big cubes.

Pulse until you get a sand consistency.

Once you have "sand" turn processor on and let it run while you pour iced water through tunnel. One TBSP at a time until you see.....

this. The dough will ball up. Take out and mold together.

Divide into 2 equal balls and wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes. You can totally make this dough ahead of time and put it in the fridge for a few days.

Roll out dough according to the size of your dish and place in dish. Add filling and bake according to your recipe.

Easy Flaky Pie Crust - 2 crusts

Pie Crust:
2 1/2 cups Flour
2-4 tbsp Sugar, desired sweetness
1/4 tsp salt
2 stick of butter, cut into cubes and chilled
4-6 Tbsp Water, iced
1 egg, whisk (egg wash)


Road Map:

1. Into a food processor place flour, sugar, salt and butter. Process until it looks like fine sand. Continue to run processor and the through the tunnel on top add 1Tbsp of iced water at the time until the dough forms. Gather the dough into a ball. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. Wrap them in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.  

2. Roll out dough: lightly flour your surface. Take 1 dough ball and roll out, according to your pie dish. Carefully place dough in dish. Slowly pour Fruit Filling of choice into dough and set aside. Roll out second dough to desired size and top the pie. Crimp the edges. Brush pie with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Make 3 slits in the center of the pie. Bake according to your pie recipe.

Fresh Strawberry Pie - Pie Edition

Strawberries. Those delicate red berries that brighten both your tongue and eyes. They are so radiant and so sweet. So glad it's the season for strawberries!

My husband is a pie man. Even for his birthday he prefers a pie. One of his favorites is strawberry pie. One of the best strawberry pies I've ever had is from Nation's Giant Hamburgers. Their pies are delicious, especially their strawberry! The pie has a beautiful balance of sweet and tart. The strawberries are all different sizes & textures, some mashed, some sliced and others whole. The crust is buttery & flaky. It's the best summer treat. 

So I'm attempting my rift of this pie. I'm making a buttery flaky dough, which you can make a couple of days ahead, filling it with an ooey gooey strawberry filling and topping it off with fresh whipped cream. Yum!! 

Have a fabulous strawberry season! 

Buen Provecho!

Place all dough ingredients in processor. Make sure butter is stone cold.

Process until it's a sandy texture. Continue processing and add 1 Tbsp of ice water at a time until dough forms.

Knead dough until dough is smooth and soft.

Divide into 2 disk, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Roll out dough on a floured surface.

Place dough in pan, crimp and prick bottom of crust with a fork.

Place a piece of foil and weighed down with dried beans.

Golden Brown. Not the best crimper but it still tastes good! Cool completely.

Cook and mash 2 cups of strawberries, corn starch, lime, sugar, vanilla and a pinch of salt.

Add thicken mixture to the remaining strawberries. Cool mixture completely.

Pour cooled mixture into cooled crust.

Place in fridge for 3 hours to set.

A bit of fresh whipped cream and we're ready to eat!

Fresh Strawberry Pie

Pie Dough - yields 2 crusts

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups flour
2 sticks of butter, cubed, chilled
3 Tbsp sugar
1/4 Tsp salt
4-6 Tbsp of iced water

1 egg & water- egg wash

Side note: It is very important that the butter be stone cold and the water iced to ensure a good flaky dough. 

Road Map:
 
1. Place flour, butter, sugar and salt into food processor. Process until it has a sandy texture.

2.Continue to run the processor and through the tunnel on top pour 1 Tbsp of ice water at a time until the dough forms a balls.

3. Dust work surface. Remove dough from and form dough into a ball. Divide into 2 pieces. I use a scale to get equal pieces. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and let it chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or overnight.

4.  Preheat oven to 400. Roll out dough and place in a pie dish.

5. For blind baking (the method we're using for the strawberry pie) prick the bottom of the crust with a fork, this helps from bubbles forming in the crust while it bakes. Put foil or parchment on top of dough and weigh down with some dry beans or weights. Bake for 20-25 minutes, remove the beans/foil/parchment in the last few minutes, give the crust an egg wash and place back into the oven for 3- 5 minutes until golden. Cool pie crust completely then fill.

6. For 2 crust pies (apple, blueberry,etc...) Once dough is in dish, trim the edges and crimp. Fill the crust with filling and cover with 2nd crust.  Give the crust an egg wash. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until golden brown.   



 Strawberry Filling:

Ingredients:

5 cups strawberries, quartered

1/2 - 1 cup of sugar, depending on the sweetness of the strawberries
1/4 cup corn starch
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp lime juice & zest
pinch of Salt

Road Map:

1. In a small pot on medium heat, add 2 cups of strawberries, sugar, corn starch, vanilla, lime juice, zest and salt. Let mixture come to a simmer.

2. Mash strawberries and stir occasionally to prevent burning. Continue to cook until mixture thickens to a shiny glaze filling, about 5-7 minutes. Add remaining strawberries.

3. Allow mixture to cool completely.

4. Pour cool filling into cooled crust and place in refrigerator for at least 3 hours or until it sets.

5. Once set it's ready to cut. Serve with a dollop of fresh whipped cream.

6. Enjoy!

Whipped Cream  Yields- 1 1/2 to 2 cups whipped cream

Ingredients:

2-4 tablespoons sugar, to taste
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Road Map:

1. Place the sugar into the mixing bowl and add the whipping cream. Whisk just until the cream reaches stiff peaks.

2.Store any unused portion in an airtight container for up to 10 hours.
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