Recipe: Easy as Pie Crust (requires a food processor)

Through my life I have heard it said over and over: "pie crust is so easy!" Not so for me, not a good basic crust, no matter what I tried. So I learned to rely on store bought sheets of crust for many years. Occasionally I would try tried some new  "fool proof" pie crust tricks:

• pre-chilled all my tools and ingredients; 
• used vodka or vinegar instead of water; 
• barely tossed the ingredients together and kneaded them into horrible little ball of dough. 

At best the results were always dismal and this was disheartening to a girl who thought she could bake anything!

I consider myself a pretty good cook, and a very fine baker. Anyone who has ever worked with me has reaped the benefits of my successful baking experiments. When I bring in a cake or a box of cookies people know it is something to try and their tightly-adhered-to diets go right out the window. Cakes,cookies, tarts and tortes, it is all very easy for me. Even complicated stuff doesn't intimidate me. But pie?  Not so much. I never was able to get the hang of the crust, so pie from scratch, it wasn't something I made much of.

When Food Network Magazine published a Pie Crust 101 several months ago I thought I would give myself one more chance at failure because my son had given me a food processor last Christmas and this article was an opportunity for its maiden voyage. To my delight it worked, and I simply love to find a recipe which is easy to do (magnificently).

Here's the recipe from the article:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 Teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup cold shortening
• 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter (cut into small pieces)
• 6 Tablespoons ice water

Pulse the flour, sugar and salt in your food processor til combined. Add the shortening and pulse til it disappears into the flour, about 30 seconds. Then add the butter and pulse until it looks like cornmeal with some bean sized lumps. Drizzle in the ice water and pulse til it starts coming together but stop before it all goes together in a ball.  The dough should just hold together when you pinch a bit in your hand. Divide into two equal sized balls and wrap each in plastic wrap. Use the wrap to help you pat the balls into discs and then chill very well (at least 1 hour but up to 24 hours). Then roll it out. 

Notes: This recipe has specific amounts of liquids and I like that there is no guesswork. It seems all the other recipes I tried said to "add enough liquid to get the right consistency", and this was a tricky bit for me. I followed the directions as written, but found that with the cold butter it took more pulses. I learned to cut the butter into smaller pieces and keep pulsing until it gets better distributed in the mix. This is a simple recipe which works well, but it doesn't tell you all you need to know when it says "Then roll it out". Rolling out the dough is not as simple as it sounds.

To those who have not rolled out pie crust, here's my advice: Go slow!  Rolling out chilled dough, either cookie or crust, is not something that can be rushed or you will end up with cracked or torn  dough. Start with an evenly floured surface (I use a wand) and work the dough from the center out in all directions to form a round crust. Once the dough is rolled out to (about 1/4 inch thick), wrap the crust around the rolling pin. This makes it easier to transport it over your pie pan where you can simply roll it off and gently press the crust into the contours of the pan. Fold any loose edges under or cut them off and pinch (or press with a fork) to make a nice edge. Now it's ready to either fill and bake or bake and fill depending on the pie you are making.

If you don't use it all you can freeze the shells by wrapping the pie dish in plastic wrap then again using in 2 layers of foil. And for all those little scraps that are left over on the counter? Make pie crust cookies!

• Smoosh whatever bits and pieces you have into a ball and roll it out like you did for the pie crust. Spread with butter and cinnamon sugar. Cut into squares and put them on an un-greased cookie sheet. And pop in a preheated oven at 400 degrees until light brown.

Yummy deliciousness.

Enjoy!