Favorite Pie Crust

Boy, it's been a little while since my last posting, but I haven't felt the greatest to bake/cook in the last few weeks... for a great reason though! We are expecting our second child!!! So with all the nausea and tiredness, I haven't had much time nor energy to bake :( When I did do some baking, to celebrate the wonderful pickings of my favorite season, I decided to try my hand at apple pies. I have made different pies before, but I've never found my favorite homemade pie crust. I really like my pie crust to be flaky, despite the gooey pie filling. When the pie crust is baked all the way through, that's when I'm happiest! 

So when I saw this recipe at Pioneer Woman Cooks (btw, if you have never seen/heard of Ree Drummond, check out her website and her new cooking show on the FoodNetwork!), I figured I would try it. My husband is, well, I wouldn't say "picky" per se on pies, but he is particular (that's a better word, yes?) about how his pies taste. So imagine the pressure on my shoulders to try to achieve the best pie possible! So when this pie crust was used for an apple crumb pie, he gave it the big thumbs up! He even said he likes it better than double layered pies. 

I adapted the dough recipe and the dough rolling method (which are two different blogs on Ree's website) into this one post. I encourage you to check out each separate post (links at the bottom of this post).

Note: After dough is mixed, it has to go in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes, then 15 minutes to rest, so plan accordingly!

Ingredients

§  6 cups AP flour 

§  2 tsp salt

§3 cups Crisco (vegetable shortening)

§  2 whole large eggs

§  ½ cup + 2 Tbsp cold water

§  2 Tbsp white vinegar

§  5 large freezer-safe Ziploc bags

Directions

In a large bowl, with a pastry cutter, sift the flour and salt together, then gradually work the Crisco into the flour for about 3 or 4 minutes until it resembles a coarse meal. In a small bowl, beat the eggs with a fork and then pour it into the flour/shortening mixture. Add the cold water and white vinegar. Stir together gently until all of the ingredients are incorporated (do not overmix).

Separate the dough into fifths. Form five evenly sized balls of dough and place each dough ball into a large Ziploc bag. Using a rolling pin, slightly flatten each ball of dough (about ½ inch thick) to make rolling easier later. Seal the bags and place them in the freezer until you need them. (If you will be using it immediately it’s still a good idea to put in the freezer for about 15 to 20 minutes to chill.)

When you are ready to use the dough to make a crust, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw for 15 minutes. Cut two pieces of parchment paper, big enough so the rolled out crust fits on each paper. On one piece of parchment paper, sprinkle some flour, place the dough, sprinkle some more flour, and place the other piece of parchment paper. Over the paper with a rolling pin, roll out the dough, starting at the center and working your way out. If the dough is sticking to the paper, peel the paper off and sprinkle some more flour, on both sides (Make sure the rolled out dough could come off the paper easily). Continue rolling until it’s about ½ inch larger in diameter than your pie pan.

Peel off the top parchment paper and carefully place the dough (other paper side up) on the pie pan. Gently press the dough against the corner of the pan. Go around the pie pan pinching and tucking the dough to make a clean edge.

Note: The parchment paper method is completely optional; if you prefer to not use any paper, you can roll out the dough on a clean countertop. Make sure to use plenty of flour so the dough won’t stick to the countertop, and you may need a spatula to help get the dough onto the pie pan. This paper method was explained here on the  Pioneer Woman Cooks website and since I have tried it, I love it! It is less messy and I don’t get flour everywhere in my kitchen J

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks, for the dough and the rolling out method.