Recipes Using Walnut Pie Crust

WALNUT PIE CRUST RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. You will need one buttered, nine-inch deep-dish pie pan either a light-colored or glass pan.
• Place the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl and stir to combine.
• Place the nuts in a food processor or blender and pulse just long enough to chop the nuts finely, not into a paste. Scrape the nuts into the flour mixture and stir to combine.
• Add the melted butter and combine well.
• Press the mixture into the buttered pie pan making certain that the crust is of even thickness.
• Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until it just starts to brown on the edges. Do not over bake. A light-colored or glass pan will absorb less heat than a dark one and help ensure against over baking.

WALNUT PIE CRUST

Steps:

• In a medium mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Press the nut mixture firmly into bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie plate.
• Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for about 10 minutes, or until the edge is golden brown. Cool.

APPLE-PEAR PIE WITH WALNUT CRUST

Steps:

• Crust: Pulse flour, walnuts, granulated sugar, and salt in a food processor until walnuts are finely chopped. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds. Drizzle pi cup ice water evenly over mixture. Pulse until mixture comes together when pressed in your hand (dough should not be wet or sticky). If dough is too dry, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse.
• Lay out 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Empty half the dough onto each piece. Bring edges of wrap together to gather dough. Press into disks. Roll out disks, still wrapped in plastic, to 1/2-inch-thick rounds (8 inches in diameter). Refrigerate at least 45 minutes and up to 2 days. Let stand at room temperature 5 to 10 minutes before rolling.
• Roll out 1 disk of dough into a 12-inch round (a generous 1/8-inch thickness) on a lightly floured surface. Fit into a 9-inch pie plate, and trim edge, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Roll out remaining disk of dough to a generous 1/8-inch thickness. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet, and refrigerate, along with dough in pie plate, until firm, about 1 hour.
• Filling: Peel and core apples, and cut into eighths (you should have about 7 cups). Peel and core pears, and cut into eighths (you should have about 5 cups). Toss apple and pear slices with salt, granulated sugar, vanilla seeds, and lemon juice. Melt butter in a large saute pan over high heat. Add fruit mixture, and cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-high, and cook until fruit is softened, about 5 minutes more. Stir in flour, and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat; let filling cool completely.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees with rack in lower third of oven. Cut dough on baking sheet into 3-inch-wide strips. Pour filling into dough-lined pie plate, and brush edge of dough with some egg wash. Weave dough strips into a lattice over filling, and press overhang onto edge of crust. Trim edge, fold under, and crimp as desired. Brush top of pie with more egg wash, then sprinkle with sanding sugar. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Bake pie 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees, and bake until crust is golden and filling is bubbling through lattice, about 1 hour. Let cool completely on a wire rack.