A pie will never be truly perfect without a great piecrust and topping, so in this chapter I’ve included my favorite time-tested crust and topping recipes. I strongly urge you to make your own pie shell as opposed to using a store-bought version. It will take a bit more time and effort, but there’s no question it’s well worth it.
Of course, we begin with the basic
Traditional Pastry Piecrust. I know that working with pastry pie dough can be intimidating. I promise you, though, it’s not as challenging as you think. The trick to creating a truly amazing flaky, buttery piecrust is nothing more than correctly combining the right ingredients at the right temperature.
Each pie recipe in this book will offer a standard crust and (if applicable) preferred topping choice. But always remember, these are just suggestions to get you started. I strongly encourage you to play around and swap out different crusts and toppings. It’s an easy way to create a lot of variation in a single recipe.
Traditional Pastry Piecrust
Makes enough for one 9- or 10-inch double-crust piecrust
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons Crisco, cold
5 tablespoons water, ice-cold
½ cup heavy cream
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour and salt. Add the Crisco to the flour mixture. Either with a pastry blender or with your fingertips, mix the ingredients together with an up-and-down chopping motion until the dough forms coarse, pea-size crumbs. Note: I prefer to use my fingertips, but take care not to overhandle the dough, because it will become difficult to work with; when dough is overhandled, the Crisco becomes too incorporated. In the perfect pie, the Crisco will have a marbleized look when the dough is rolled out, and you will actually be able to see Crisco swirls within the uncooked dough.
Add the ice-cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, delicately incorporating each tablespoon into the flour mixture before you add the next. You may have to use 1 more or 1 less tablespoon of water than the amount recommended, depending upon the humidity in your kitchen at the time of baking. You will know you have added just the right amount of water when the dough forms a ball that easily holds together.
Use your palm to form the dough into a disk shape, wrap it with plastic, and
place it in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes. Once the dough has chilled, divide the disk in half. You now have enough dough for either one 9- or 10-inch double-crust (1 pie shell and 1 top crust) or two 9- or 10-inch single crusts (pie shell only). If you are
a single-crust pie, you will use only one half of the dough per pie. Wrap the remaining half in plastic and reserve it in the refrigerator for future use; the dough can be reserved in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Alternatively, you can make a second single-crust pie shell, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze it for future use; it will keep for up to 1 month.
Preparing prebaked pie shells
A number of recipes in this book call for prebaked pie shells for the single-crust pies. Follow these directions before adding the desired filling.
To prepare the pie shell, divide the disk of dough in half, setting one half to the side. On a clean, lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it forms a 10-inch circle. Fold the circle in half, place it in the pie plate so the edges of the circle drop over the rim, and unfold the dough to completely cover the pie plate. To crimp the pie dough, use your forefingers and thumbs. Press down with your forefingers and up with your thumbs to crimp the dough. Continue to crimp until the entire pie is completed. Brush heavy cream over the crimped edges to create a perfect, golden brown finish. Line the bottom of the crust with parchment paper and place pie weights on top to ensure the edges do not fall into the shell while the crust is baking. If you do not have pie weights, dried beans also work well.
To bake, place the pie plate on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a golden brown color is achieved. Before removing the shell from the oven, make sure that the crust under the parchment paper has turned a golden brown.
Roll out the dough until about ⅛ inch thick. Make a circle about 10 inches in diameter for a regular piecrust and about 12 inches for a deep-dish pie.
Fold the dough circle in half so that it can easily be lifted and placed over the pie dish.
Unfold the dough until the dish is completely covered, then gently pat the dough into the pie dish so that it fits snugly. If dough tears, gently pinch together with fingertips.
To crimp the pie dough, use your forefingers and thumbs. Press down with your forefingers and up with your thumbs to crimp the dough. Continue to crimp until the entire pie is completed.
Using Pie WeightsPie weights keep the piecrust in place and stop air bubbles from forming when making prebaked shells. These small balls can be purchased in both metal and ceramic varieties or you can create your own makeshift pie weights by using dried beans. Cut a piece of parchment paper into a square shape and place it on top of the pie shell. Next, place the pie weights—distributing them evenly—on top of the parchment paper.
Makes one 9-inch crust
24 graham cracker sheets, finely chopped (1½ cups)
1 tablespoon sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a food processor, pulsate the graham crackers until they are finely chopped. (If you do not have a food processor, you can also place the graham crackers in a plastic sandwich or freezer bag and roll over them with a rolling pin to crush the crackers into crumbs.) In a medium bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Add the melted butter, using your fingertips to incorporate it with the graham cracker mixture. Spread the graham cracker mixture evenly across the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate and carefully pat flat so that it covers the entire dish. There should be no gaps in the crust.
Bake the crust for about 5 minutes, or until it’s golden brown. Cool the pie shell for 30 minutes before adding your desired filling.
Graham Cracker Macadamia Coconut Crust
Makes one 9-inch crust
24 graham cracker sheets (1½ finely chopped cups)
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
½ cup unsalted macadamia nuts
1 tablespoon sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
In a food processor, pulsate the graham crackers, shredded coconut, macadamia nuts, and sugar until they are finely chopped and combined. Pour the ingredients into a medium bowl and incorporate the melted butter. Spread the mixture evenly across the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate and carefully pat flat so that it covers the entire dish. There should be no gaps in the crust. Set the pie crust aside until you are ready to add your desired pie filling.
This crust pumps up the volume by providing a rich chocolate shell that will transform even the most basic filling into an out-of-this-world concoction. For an easy treat, just fill this crust with a basic chocolate or vanilla cream filling. Also be sure to try this with
Almond Joy Pie and
Chocolate Silk Pie.
Makes one 9-inch crust
20 Oreo cookies
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons whole milk
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Place the Oreo cookies and cinnamon in a food processor and pulse them together until they are ground into fine crumbs. In a medium bowl, mix together the crumbs and melted butter, using a fork to combine. Add and incorporate the milk, ½ tablespoon at a time, stopping when the crumbs are moist enough to mold into a pie shell (this may take only 1½ tablespoons of milk to accomplish).
Spread the Oreo crust mixture evenly across the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate and carefully pat flat so that it covers the entire dish. There should be no gaps in the crust. Bake for about 5 minutes, until slightly raised and firm. Cool the pie shell for 30 minutes before adding your desired pie filling.
Pretzel Crust is about as untraditional as it gets, but I’ve found that this salty crust is a perfect complement to otherwise sweet pies. Try this with
Candy Bar Pie.
Makes one 9-inch crust
2 cups pretzel sticks, chopped into fine pieces
¼ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a large bowl, mix together the chopped pretzels and brown sugar. Pour the melted butter over the dry ingredients and use your fingertips to combine all of the ingredients. Spread the pretzel mixture evenly across the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate so that it covers the entire dish, with no gaps in the crust.
Place the piecrust in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the crust turns a golden brown. Remove the piecrust from the oven and allow it to cool before use.
Cinnamon Sugar Crumb Topping
Makes enough topping for one 9-inch pie
½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
⅓ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into ¼-inch cubes
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Using a pastry blender, incorporate the butter by cutting it into the flour until the butter forms small, pea-size pieces.
Pair the topping with a traditional pastry pie shell and the filling of your choice. Once the filling has been placed in the pie shell, sprinkle the cinnamon sugar crumb topping evenly over the filling until it is completely covered. Bake as directed.
Makes enough topping for one 9-inch pie
½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
⅓ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup sweetened shredded coconut
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into ¼-inch cubes
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and shredded coconut. Using a pastry blender, incorporate the butter by cutting it into the flour until the butter forms small, pea-size pieces.
Pair the topping with a traditional pastry pie shell and the filling of your choice. Once the filling has been placed in the pie shell, sprinkle the coconut crumb topping evenly over the filling until it is completely covered. Bake as directed.
Makes enough for one 9-inch pie
½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
⅔ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into ¼-inch cubes
¼ cup chopped walnuts
In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Using a pastry blender, incorporate the butter by cutting it into the flour until the butter forms small, pea-size pieces. Add in the walnuts, using your fingers to gently incorporate them into the crumb base.
Pair this topping with a traditional pastry pie shell and the filling of your choice. Once the filling has been placed in the pie shell, distribute the walnut crumb topping evenly over the filling until it is completely covered. Bake as directed.
