The Easiest & Flakiest Pie Crust Recipe
This is only not a recipe, but a tutorial on making a pretty pie… a step-by-step guide to crimping a pretty pie crust. After all, most pies taste great, but a really pretty pie can put it over the top!
The Easiest & Flakiest Pie Crust Recipe
2 pie crusts
18 tablespoons cold butter (2 sticks + 2 tablespoons)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
6 to 8 tablespoons ice water
In a food processor with the steel blade, add flour, salt and sugar. Cut butter into small pieces, then add it to the food processor. Pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Slowly pour in water until the mixture begins to form a ball or come together as dough. Dump it out onto a board and form it into two disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Remove from the refrigerator, unwrap and place it on a well floured board. Roll it out with a rolling pin, moving the dough in between each roll to form a circle.
Fold it into quarters.
Put it into the pie plate with the point of the fold in the center. Unfold.
Fold under the edges to create a nice ‘bump’ around the edge.
Pinch the edge between your thumb and forefinger. Move along the edge, all the way around.
Use pie weights when baking if you are “Blind Baking” the shell, or baking the shell before it is filled like you would for a cream pie, like chocolate, banana or a lemon meringue. These pie weights were my Granny’s… they probably filled 100’s of lemon meringue pie shells.
Oops. I forgot to prick the bottom before the pie weights went in! You can brush the crust with an egg wash if you like a golden crust. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes until golden.
This is the crust after it was baked, then filled with chocolate custard. I used my friend (and cousin-in-law’s) Lorin’s recipe. Lorin made this for my family and it was so good, I begged her for the recipe. Here it is!
Chocolate Custard Filling:
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
2 ounces unsweetened choc/or cocoa conversion
3 slightly beaten egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons butter
Combine sugar, cornstarch, chocolate and salt: gradually add milk. Cook and stir over medium high heat till bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Stir moderate amount of mixture into yolks: immediately return to hot mixture and cook 2 minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat add butter and vanilla. Pour into shell.
Top it with meringue.
Meringue:
4 egg whites
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ teaspoon vanilla
With your mixer on high speed beat egg whites, cream of tartar and vanilla. Gradually add in sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form. Top pie with meringue and bake at 350 until golden.
Post Toast. Toasted meringue cloud!
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