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The Best Ever Homemade Flaky Pie Crust
We use pie crusts and dough for more than you would think. Pies, of course, pot pies, pull-aparts, croissants, rolls, pizza, etc.
There are so many uses and recipes for this pie crust other than just pie crust. And who says that you can only use one recipe in one way?! I use my Chicken and Dumplings recipe to make Hawaiian Haystacks as well, don't I?
Just wait until you see some of the great recipes this works with! I've already used it in tons of recipes already!
My husband and I are totally foodies! We love to eat, we love to cook, and we LOVE trying new recipes and new ways to use food. However, some of the simplest experiments have rendered some of the greatest recipes; take our Slow Cooker Pot Roast for instance!
We also aren't the type of people to forgo a dish that we're really craving just because we don't have the right ingredients. That's where this recipe came from!
Cook Time
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup + 1 tablespoon cold butter
- 1/3 cup ice cold water
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Start by pouring your flour into a large mixing bowl.
- Then add your sugar and baking powder and mix thoroughly.
- You'll now want to remove your butter from the refrigerator (because you want it to be as cold as possible without being frozen), and add the right amount to your flour mixture.
- Cut it into your dry ingredients. It won't look like it's enough to make a dough, but just keeping cutting and it will all come together into a clumpy, but no longer wet, mixture.
- Now in a separate smaller bowl, beat your 1 large egg until combined.
- Add in your cold water, emphasis on cold, and your vanilla.
- Beat together to combine.
- Now pour your egg mixture into your flour mixture.
- You'll want to mix everything well with a spoon or a spatula until a dough begins to form. At that point, it will be difficult continuing with a spoon.
- Dig your hands in and mix it as well as you can.
- When mixed pretty well, dump it out onto a clean, floured surface.
- Knead your dough for about 5-10 until all of your ingredients come together.
- Now fold it over and form it into a long but thick tube.
- Divide it with a sharp knife, or dough cutter, into 3 equal pieces.
- Wrap any dough you don't plan on using with saran wrap and store in the refrigerator.
- Roll out your remaining dough, large enough to fill your pie dish and more.
- I find it easier to transfer my pie dough into the dish by folding it gently in half first.
- Prepare your pie dish by spraying it with cooking spray to be ready for your pie dough, so that your pie slices won't stick to your dish when serving.
- Transfer your dough over to your pie dish and unfold it to cover your dish.
- Press your pie dough down into your dish and then decide how you are going to design your crust edge.
- You can roll it, cut it to fit and decorate it with dough shapes you make, or even fold it back so that you can crimp it.
- Assuming you're crimping as this is the most traditional design, crimp the edges with three fingers as shown in the picture, all the way around.
- Poke holes with a fork into the bottom of your crust to allow air to escape during the baking process.
- To fill it with a cold filling like pudding or a cream pie filling, you'll want to bake it first.
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. Bake your crust for 10-15 minutes.
- Let cool completely, then fill with your cold filling.
- To fill it with a hot filling, like a cherry pie, or other cooked pie filling, you'll want to bake your crust with your filling. Follow the directions for your particular pie.
- Whatever way you choose to eat it, enjoy!
- Yummy! Yummy!
Nutritional Information
Nutrition Facts | |
---|---|
Serving size: 1/8 slice of one pie crust | |
Calories | 130 |
Calories from Fat | 72 |
% Daily Value * | |
Fat 8 g | 12% |
Saturated fat 2 g | 10% |
Unsaturated fat 0 g | |
Carbohydrates 12 g | 4% |
Sugar 0 g | |
Fiber 0 g | |
Protein 2 g | 4% |
Cholesterol 0 mg | |
Sodium 150 mg | 6% |
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. |
Buttery, flaky, yummy without even the filling of the pie. Voila! Perfect!
This is great for cold pies and even hot ones, sweet ones and even savory ones.
Although, this need not be it's only destiny. This dough is amazing as pull-apart cinnamon rolls, pizza bites, croissants, yummy flaky pizza dough, flaky dough for pot pies, tarts, and yes, even cookies!
You'll have to stay tuned for some of these wonderful recipes! In the meantime, now you have a recipe to make your own flaky pastry dough anytime you want.
And it only takes me about 20 minutes for the whole process. I really like getting creative with designing my crust edges.
Sometimes I roll it in, sometimes I crimp it, I've done some interesting modifications that I can't explain, and I've even used one of the above methods and then cut shapes with extra dough to lay along the edges.
Get creative, have fun, and enjoy your pie!
Quick Poll
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© 2013 Victoria Van Ness