Easy As Pie CRUST

I LOVE Kelsey's Essentials and recently saw an episode about pies. She swore that her recipe for pie crust is faster, cheaper and better than a grocery store pie; I laughed out loud and immediately began mocking her to Patrick. Well, tonight I ate those words. I finally tried her pie crust and holy heck it's indescribably amazing! Oh and incredibly cheap. Oh and really quick! So, yeah, Kelsey is right.

This mouth-watering pie crust is buttery, flaky, and crispy. When it is just about done, the butter dinner roll smell fills the kitchen. SO GOOD! Just try the recipe once and I promise you will kick yourself for not knowing this sooner.

Materials:

• Pastry Blender, Food Processor or just your hands
• Rolling Pin
• Large Bowl
• Pie Pan
• Bench Scrapper or Rubber Spatula
• Plastic Wrap

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 Cups Flour
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 1/2 Sticks Butter (3/4 cup)
• 4 to 6 Tablespoons Ice Cold Water

Directions:

Cube Butter

Nuts in the freezer helps them last

The key to this pie crust is the science behind it - as Kelsey puts it. Using very cold butter and water makes all the difference in the world.

To begin, cube the butter into tiny pieces and stick in the freezer. 

Large Pea Sized Butter

 In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt. Once the butter is chilled, add it to your bowl. Using a pastry blender - seen in the image to the left, a food processor, a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or just your hands, work in the butter until the pieces are large pea sized and mixed in well.

 Next, using a fork, stir in four to six tablespoons of ice water. The mixture will be crumbly at this stage. Use a bench scrapper or rubber spatula to begin combine the mixture together - be careful not to overwork the dough. The image on the right is what my dough looked like once the water was added. It's a little too crumbly and I will add a little more water next time.

 Divide the dough in half and place them on separate pieces of plastic wrap. Begin forming a disc with your hands - but not taking too long because the warmth of your hands will mess the dough up by melting the butter. Use the plastic wrap to combine further - do this by pulling and forming a disc. Once done simply put in the fridge for a minimum of 15-20 minutes. The longer the better.

 You can see how the butter is marbled through the dough. That is perfect!

Pull the dough out of the fridge and generously add flour to your work station, rolling pin, and on top of your dough. Keep flipping and rotating your crust for a better circular shape.
Add the crust to your pie dish. The easiest way to do this is by rolling the dough on your rolling pin and unrolling it onto the dish. Using a fork, poke holes in the bottom of the crust(this technique is called docking). 
Helpful Tip:
I didn't own a rolling pin. I went to Home Depot and I was able to buy a long piece of wood that Patrick cut into three pieces. I now have 3 rolling pins that I got for $4 total! In Home Depot, the wood was located near the molding section in lumber. Don't buy Pine though because it has a sticky texture.

Bake the crust at 425 Degrees.
If Filled: 15-20 minutes covered with foil. Remove the foil and bake for another 5 minutes.
If Unfilled: Put aluminum foil in the unbaked crust and evenly fill with uncooked beans - be sure to cover edges with foil to keep from burning. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and beans and bake 5 more minutes until golden brown.

Other Variations: 

Pate Sucree (sweet dough): Add 3 tablespoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract to the original recipe.

Savory Dough: Add 1/4 cup grated

cheese to the original recipe.

Nutty Dough: Reduce the flour to 1 cup and add 1/2 cup roasted pulverized nuts. (recommended: almonds, pecans, walnuts etc.)

Bearcake Creations is a great blog if you are interested in fine foods, creative DIY projects, and photography tutorials. Explore the site using the labels on the right. Be sure to leave a comment or "follow" and you will absolutely brighten my day!!!

See This and Other Great Recipes:  
http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/kelsey-nixon/fresh-peaches-and-cream-rustic-pie-recipe/index.html