How important is the crust part of your pie? For those of you who have tried to make a pie in the past, only to be completely disappointed by the taste, texture and consistency of your pie crust already know the answer to this question. It doesn’t matter a lick if you have the best darn filling anyone could ever hope to taste, if the crust surrounding it is tough, hard or soggy. So how do we make the perfect crust?
Blackberry Pie with Lattice Crust
Here is the recipe for pie crust that Chef Victoria Queen used when she entered this year’s American Pie Council’s National Pie Championship in Orlando, FL on April 24th-25th, 2010. This recipe makes enough crust for a double-crusted pie. If you opt for a lattice top, you’ll have enough crust left over to make some Cinnamon Pie Crust Cookies, that just might remind you of Grandma. Just roll out your extra crust. Brush it with cream and sprinkle it generously with cinnamon sugar. Roll the crust up like a cinnamon roll, slice and bake on a greased cookie sheet for about 10 minutes, or until golden and crisp.
Speaking of “cookies” that is precisely the term used when one person taste-tested this pie and described the crust to Victoria. “The crust itself tastes like a delicious cookie.”
Flaky Pie Crust
- 3 cups flour
- 1/2 cup Crisco® shortening
- 1 stick butter, cut into eight pieces
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 2 Tablespoons to 1/3 cup ice water
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, place the flour, salt and sugar. Pulse these ingredients a few times to mix. Add the butter and shortening. Pulse 8 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of peas. With the machine running, pour the ice water through the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball. Dump out on a floured board and roll into two equal balls. Flatten each to form a 6” disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. While dough chills, prepare filling.
Roll each piece on a floured counter, rolling from the center to the edge, turning and flouring the dough to make sure it doesn’t stick to the board. Fold the dough in half, place in a pie pan, and unfold to fit the pan. ¾” of dough should extend past pan edge. Repeat with the top crust, covering the prepared filling.
Tart Cherry Pie Filling
- 4 cups drained tart cherries, juice reserved
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- Pinch of salt
3 Tbsp tapioca
1 cup juice (reserved from cherries)
½ teaspoon red food coloring
- 1 ½ Tablespoons butter
- 2 Tablespoons cream or milk
- 2 Tablespoons granulated or sanding sugar
In a medium sized bowl mix together the first five ingredients and pour into a raw pie shell. Dot with 4-5 dabs of butter. Cover with top crust, or make a lattice crust using strips of rolled out dough. Brush top crust with cream and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Place in freezer 10 minutes before baking at 425°F for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F and bake for another 45 minutes or until golden brown. Pie filling should appear bubbly, and somewhat thickened.
If you can bear to, allow the pie to rest for 30 minutes after removing it from oven before you cut and serve it. When you do serve it, be sure to break out the high quality vanilla ice cream. This pie will take you back!
