PIEtisserie Pie Crust

PIEtisserie Pie Crust Recipe (for a double crust sweet or savory pie)

• 1 cup cold unsalted butter (2 sticks)
• 3 cups flour (unsifted)
• approx 1 cup ice cold water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (?)

Measure three cups flour into a large mixing bowl. Do not pack the flour into the measuring cup, simply scoop and level with the back of knife. Add the salt, and mix.
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Grate the butter over the flour with a cheese grater or by scraping with the tines of a fork. The butter can also be cut in pieces over the flour. The butter should be very hard, straight out of the fridge. It also does not have to be an exact cup of butter, it’s ok if you add a little more, better to have a little more, than not enough.

Combine the flour, butter, and salt with a fork or pastry cutter. The mixture should look crumbly, sandy-looking and not uniform. There should be small clumps of butter, about the size of pebbles/gravel, and roughly no larger than nickels in diameter, throughout the mixture. Butter will clump on the fork, be sure to scrape it back down into the mixture.

Add the ice cold water by sprinkling it over the flour-butter mixture in increments of (approx) 3-4 tablespoons. Stir with a fork after each addition of water. Add enough water until the mixture sticks together when pressed between your fingertips and balls up into a dough ball. Avoid combining the butter-flour-water mixture with your hands, as the heat from your hands will warm the butter and water, when the butter and water should stay as cold as possible. There may be a section of your mixture that is drier than the rest, focus on adding water to that area.

Just like the butter, it’s better to add a little more water, better to have a little more, than not enough.

Once the butter-flour-water mixture form a large sticky lump in your mixing bowl, gently and quickly shape it roughly into a ball and store in a Ziploc bag or some other airtight container. If your ball of dough is not sticky to the touch (does not leave dough on your finger when touched), add a little more water.

Refrigerate your dough for 25 minutes, or longer. The colder the dough the better, as it will bake up lighter and flakier.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut in half. Store the other half in an airtight container. You may also place the container of dough back in the fridge. The first half of dough being rolled out is the bottom crust.

Roll out to 1/8 in. thickness.

Optional: Lightly brush the top of the upper crust with cream or a beaten egg for a crispier crust and glossy finish. Be sure to evenly coat the entire top.

Baking Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake the pie on a lower rack on a cookie sheet (to catch any dripping filling).

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 mins. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 25-30 mins.

Juice should run from the pie when it’s done.

Apple Crisp

* Three lbs of tart apples
* Two tablespoons of lemon juice
* Half a cup of light brown sugar (pack it tightly)
* Half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon
* Half a teaspoon of ground nutmeg
* One-third cup of all-purpose flour
* One-third cup of granulated sugar
* One-third cup of rolled oats
* Four tablespoons of cold butter (Half a stick)
* Half a cup of chopped walnuts or pecans

How to Prepare:

The first step is to chop the apples into slices. Remember to remove the peeling and core. Grab two bowls. In one bowl, add the apples and lemon juice. In the other bowl, combine the brown sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Now combine the bowls and mix together. Grab another bowl and mix the flour, sugar, and oats. Slice the butter into small pieces. Now use two forks to mix the the flour and butter until it looks crumbly. Add the chopped nuts. Grease a 9 in. square baking dish and spread the apple mixture on the bottom of the dish. Top it off with the flour mix. Cook for 30 - 45 minutes at 375°, or until the apples are soft and topping is browned slightly. It tastes best if you serve it warm, or at least at room temperature (I've also tried it cold and it's not too bad cold either!). I recommend serving it with a scoop of heavy cream or vanilla ice cream.

John's Recipe/Site

NO Bake, Sugar-Free, Pumpkin/Squash Pie -YUM!

4 cups cooked, mashed butternut squash
1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
1 tablespoon vanilla flavoring
1/4 teaspoon white stevia powder
pinch of sea salt
9-inch pre-baked pie crust

1. blend all of the pie filling ingredients until smooth
2. pour the filling mixture into the crust and refrigerate for at least one hour
3. serve chilled or at room temperature

My (not anymore) secret apple pie recipe...

I'm selling the cookbook this came out of, so I need to write down the recipe. I'm not giving much detail here on what to do, so it's up to you (yeah right, like anyone besides me reads this blog) to figure out how to put it all together...

6 apples
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

cook 50-60 minutes at 375.