Moms Pie Crust Recipes

FLAKY PIE CRUST RECIPE

Steps:

• Prepare the ingredients for the recipe.
• Combine flour together with salt. Using a cheese grater, grate butter into the flour mixture, toss with a spatula once in a while to prevent butter from stiking together.
• Add water to the ingredients, work the dough with your hands just enough for it all to stick together. The dough will turn out hard.
• Seal tight with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least four hours or overnight.

MOM'S BEST PIE CRUST RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt, until thoroughly combined. Add the cold shortening and butter. Cut in with a pastry cutter or two knives, until the mixture combines into small pieces no larger than the size of peas and resembles coarse meal. See video. Gradually add the cold water one tablespoon at a time and toss with a fork, until the mixture begins to stick together and starts to clean the sides of the bowl. It usually takes me about 5 tablespoons of water, for a regular double crust, but this varies. Test the dough by grabbing some and pressing it between your fingers to see if it sticks together. If it doesn't, add a little more water, toss to combine and check it again. See Video. With your hands, gather the dough and press it into a ball. Divide the dough in half. Places each dough ball onto a piece of plastic wrap and flatten into a disk about one half inch thick. Wrap the dough in the plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least one hour or overnight, before rolling. If only using one dough disk, the other can be placed in a freezer-safe bag and frozen for 3-4 weeks and then defrosted in the fridge. Before rolling the dough, lightly flour your work surface, rolling pin and the dough. Place your rolling pin in the center of the dough and roll forward and back. Avoid rolling to the very edge. Lift the dough and turn it slightly, as you roll. To prevent the dough from sticking, place a little more flour on your surface every few turns and lightly flour you rolling pin when needed. If the edges begin to come apart, press them back together, as you roll. If the dough sticks to the surface, don't try to pick it up with your fingers or it will tear. Lightly flour a spatula (the kind for flipping eggs) and gently slide it under the dough to release it from the surface and then add a little flour to the surface and continue rolling. Sticking like this usually means the dough is getting too warm, so try to work quickly. Measure the dough: Take your pie plate and turn it over and place it on your rolled dough. There dough should be about 1-2 inches larger than your pie plate. To move the dough to the plate: Lightly flour your rolling pin. Starting at the top of the dough, gently roll the dough around the rolling pin, towards you. Slide your pie plate in front of you, and then lift the rolling pin, so that you're holding the dough above your plate. Starting at the part of the plate closest to you, leave about 1-2 inches overhang in the front and then unroll the dough into the pie plate. Once the dough is in the plate, gently position it evenly, if necessary and gently press the dough into the plate. Handling the dough too much or pulling on it, can cause shrinkage, so be gentle. If you notice any small holes or tears in the dough, try to lightly press them together with your finger. If necessary, take a small piece of dough from the excess and create a patch, by pressing the dough gently over the tear and smoothing it out. You can also do this, if you see any very thin spots. Excess dough can be trimmed. Edges can be tucked under and sealed, pinched, or pressed down with the tines of a fork. Cover the dough lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes, before filling and baking. Enjoy! Notes: 1) Use the Deep Dish Double Crust for a regular double crust pie if desired, especially if you're new at making pies. It will give you some extra dough to work with. 2) The dough must be chilled for at least one hour before rolling, but longer is better. I prefer overnight whenever possible. If the dough is not cold enough, the butter and shortening will soften quickly making the dough difficult to roll. Enjoy!! Recipe by: Diane Kometa

TOM'S MOM'S APPLE PIE

Steps:

• For the pie crust: Place the flour, granulated sugar and salt in a food processor. Pulse once or twice to evenly incorporate. Add the butter and lard and pulse until the fat is broken down into pea-size pieces, 5 to 6 pulses. Add the cider vinegar and 1 tablespoon of the cold water and pulse to combine. Continue adding a tablespoon of water at a time and pulsing after each addition until the dough just comes together (you may not need the full 1/3 cup water). Remove the dough from the food processor and form a third of the dough (about 9 ounces) into a disk. Form the remaining two-thirds of the dough (about 1 pound) into another disk. Wrap the disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
• Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F.
• Remove the dough disks from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 10 to 20 minutes to take the chill off.
• For the filling: Combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt, ginger and nutmeg in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Put the apple slices in a large bowl and stir in the sugar mixture and orange juice. Mix to combine.
• Dust a clean work surface with flour and roll out the larger disk of dough into a 13-inch round. Transfer to a 10-inch pie dish. Pour the apple filling into the shell and then evenly distribute the butter pieces over the apples. Roll out the second disk of dough into an approximately 11-by-10-inch rectangle. Cut the dough into six strips, about 11 inches long by 1 1/4 inches thick.
• Form a lattice top by laying 3 parallel dough strips vertically across the pie. Fold the middle strip of dough in half back over itself and lay one piece of dough horizontally across the middle of the pie, perpendicular to the other dough strips. Fold the original strip of dough back down. Next, lift the other two strips of dough and fold them back over themselves. Lay another strip of dough perpendicular to the folded-over dough pieces. Fold those pieces back down and repeat on the other side with the remaining piece of dough. Trim the dough around the edges of the pie dish so there is no more than a 1/2-inch overhang.
• Fold the bottom crust up and over the edges of the lattice top and crimp the edges together between your forefingers and thumbs. Place the pie on a baking sheet and transfer to the oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and cover the edges with foil or a pie crust shield. Return to the oven and continue to bake until the filling begins to bubble, another 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool at least 1 hour.
• For the mascarpone whipped cream: Combine the mascarpone, cream and confectioners' sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on high speed until the mixture forms soft peaks and is thick. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. (This can be made the day before.)
• Cut the pie into slices and top with the mascarpone whipped cream.

MOM'S LARD PIE CRUST

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in lard until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle in water, a tablespoon at a time, until pastry holds together. Shape into a ball; chill for 30 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Transfer to a 10-in. pie plate. Flute edges; fill and bake as pie recipe directs.

MOM'S PIE CRUST

Steps:

• If you need a pre-cooked pie crust, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Whisk flour and salt in mixing bowl.
• Cut in shortening until the mixture resembles peas, using either a fork or an old-fashioned pastry tool.
• Add most of the water, sprinkling it around. Mix with a fork, adding remaining water if needed. Be careful not to overwork dough after adding water.
• Gently form into a ball with your hands, then into a disk shape. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes.
• Sprinkle flour on dough board, rolling pin and your hands.
• Gently roll out dough, turning in 1/8th turns at first and concentrating on inside of circle rather than outside.
• Flip dough once, before it gets too thin. Before flipping, sprinkle flour on it.
• When finished rolling, fold in half and transfer to pie plate.
• Trim dough 1/2" outside of pie plate and turn under. Crimp with your fingers.
• If you need a pre-cooked pie crust, prick the bottom of the pan with a fork a few times, then cook for about 12-15 minutes.
• If needed, you can gently press the bottom of the crust down about half way through cooking.

MOM'S PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Mix flour and salt in medium size bowl.
• Cut in shortening with pastry blender until uniform with pieces no larger than a pea.
• Break egg into measuring cup and beat.
• Add milk to egg to just over 1/2 cup (about 1/2 cup plus a table spoon total milk and egg) stir well.
• Blend egg and milk mixture into flour mixture with a fork until liquid is no longer present.
• Very lightly knead dough and form into a ball (Over working the dough is the most common reason for pie crust failure!).
• Cut Dough in half.
• Roll out and use with your favorite filling. Makes a top and bottom crust. divide recipe in half for a single crust pie.

MOM'S FABULOUS CHICKEN POT PIE WITH BISCUIT CRUST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Melt butter in a skillet over medium-low heat, and cook the onion, celery, and carrots until the celery and carrots are tender, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in peas, parsley, thyme and flour, and cook, stirring constantly, until the flour coats the vegetables and begins to fry, about 5 minutes. Whisk in chicken broth and half-and-half, and cook until the sauce is thick and bubbling. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, and mix in the chicken meat.
• Transfer the chicken, vegetables, and sauce into a 2-quart baking dish. Arrange biscuits on top of the filling. In a small bowl, beat egg yolk with water; brush egg yolk on the biscuits.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the biscuits are golden brown and the pie filling is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.