Today The Kitchn posted a recipe for cream cheese pie dough. “Easy is the name of the game here,” they say. “We want pie, after all, not tears of frustration. Cream cheese is our secret weapon. It helps make a crust that holds together and stays tender no matter the amount of manhandling we put it through.”
Have I been wrong all along about butter? Is cream cheese actually the key to a great crust?
Moreover, have I become obsessed with creating pie perfection?
It doesn’t take Ms. Marple to deduce that the answer to that question is a resounding YES.
After next week, pie posts will cease, as I will inevitably be leaving the state fair with a prize in hand. (In my dreams!) Then I will stop forcing everyone around me to try the different crusts. I promise.
From 1914... notice that the pie is at least 4 times the size of the woman's head.
Pie-makers, do you use crisco or butter? I consider myself a butter person. (I just had a mental image of a butter sculpture of myself. Try not to think of that because it won’t do you any good.)
Though butter isn’t good for you per say, I still maintain that natural is better. I know what butter is and where it comes from, and I like using ingredients that my great grandmother would recognize. Plus, I love a crust that has a nice buttery taste. While a pie will never be healthy, I still prefer to use natural, whole ingredients. But people who use crisco swear by its ability to make a crispy, flaky crust.
What is crisco exactly? Is it just vegetable oil or does it contain more dubious ingredients? And does it achieve a better crust than butter?
Christian swears by his mom’s recipe, which originates from The Woman’s Home Companion and calls for crisco instead of butter. I’m planning on testing it tomorrow, but I’m curious about your thoughts about the crisco vs. butter debate first…
lv, molly
P.S. When I first heard this song, I thought it was terrible, and now I’m obsessed… (It doesn’t hurt that I think Beyonce is awesome.) I definitely run faster when it comes on, and I just can’t deny it anymore. What are your guilty music pleasures?
From 1934... I sure hope crisco's digestible, lady!
One reader, Andy, suggested that I try a recipe from “Art of the Pie.” Kate McDermott runs a class here in Seattle, offering her expert pie-baking tips. I’ve read about her in magazines, both national and local, and her charming and loving approach to pie makes me feel more like an artist or creator than a baker tied to measurements. Her instructions are conversational and very warm, and she enlists you to trust your instincts as you create your pie.
I’ve distilled them here for the purposes of simplicity (and to avoid the English teacher’s nightmare: plagiarism), but I highly recommend you have a look at her mantra “flour, salt, fat, and water,” as I think you’ll walk away feeling confident and prepared to bake a wonderful pie. (And maybe even a little charmed by her prose.)
This dough is undoubtedly simpler than the last recipe I chose– fewer ingredients and a little less active time. I also found it more pliable than the last dough (but that doesn’t necessarily mean better tasting; let’s wait and see!). Because I have so much pie lying around the kitchen, I chose to halve the following recipe and make a mini-pie in a cast iron skillet. Adorable and better for my waistline. (I may or may not have had a sliver of pie for breakfast.)
Here we go!
First, Kate offers tips about how to create the perfect lattice top, which I found helpful. This is so much simpler than how I was doing it!
And now for the crust!
Kate McDermott’s Pie Crust
2 1/2 C all-purpose, unbleached flour
1/2 tsp salt
16 Tbl high-fat European butter, such as Kerrygold
3-6 tbl ice-cold water
egg white
sugar
for the filling [for a whole pie]: 2 C raspberries
3 apples, cored, peeled, and chopped
1/2 C sugar
2 Tbl tapioca flour
1 tsp lemon zest
1 Tbl lemon juice
Using cold hands, rub butter into flour. She recommends cutting the butter up into small chunks, but I loved Gavin’s suggestion of freezing the butter, grating it, and mixing it in with a spatula, so I chose to do that. Slowly add water. Swish around and don’t touch too much; warm hands warm up cold butter. Try to get it so it forms a nice all of dough; add more water until you get that.
Divide into two discs, and let chill in the fridge for about an hour.
Roll out using a little extra flour, until it’s about an inch bigger around than the pan you’re using.
Once it’s assembled, brush the top with an egg white wash and sprinkle with a little sugar.
After adding grated butter to flour, slowly mix in a few tablespoons of ice cold water until the dough combines more or less. Air on the side of using less water.
Mini-pie! I lined the cast iron with parchment paper.
Kate's lattice video helped me create a far neater lattice top than I'm used to...
Want a slice? (And that's parchment paper peeking out from the pie; it prevents any black from the cast iron getting on the crust.)
This is what I listened to. It sounds like Americana, just like a slice of apple and berry pie.
And the verdict…? Later this week after I try Christian’s mom’s recipe.
Lemon zested, almond extract added, pi sign almost carved. The smell of delicious, beautiful pie wafting through my apartment.
Then this happened.
I forgot to follow my own directions. Lower the temperature from 400 to 350. Don’t let your pie explode. OOPS! That ship has sailed!
And you know what I blame it on? Not myself, of course, but the show “Portlandia,” which is hilarious and totally distracted me. It’s your fault, “Portlandia,” for making me laugh. lv, molly
I love me some strawberry rhubarb lattice-topped pie. Mmm...
I’m baking this for a barbeque on Saturday, and I promise it’s delicious. I made it last summer, and I’d say it was gone from the pan in 4.2 minutes with lots of smiles all around. Perfect way to use all that delicious summer fruit. Recipe follows… Wishing a lovely day to all. xo, m
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Adapted from Bon Appetit via Smitten Kitchen
Serves 8
For crust
3 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
10 tablespoons (about) ice water
For filling
3 1/2 cups 1/2-inch-thick slices trimmed rhubarb (1 1/2 pounds untrimmed)
1 16-ounce container strawberries, hulled, halved (about 3 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg yolk beaten to blend with 1 teaspoon water (for glaze)
Make crust: Combine flour, sugar and salt in processor. [Alternately, you can use a pastry cutter or a set of knives to make your dough. I don't have a food processor, and my crust turned out great.] Using on/off turns, cut in shortening and butter until coarse meal forms. Blend in enough ice water 2 tablespoons at a time to form moist clumps. Gather dough into ball; cut in half. Flatten each half into disk. Wrap separately in plastic; refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
Make filling: Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Toss gently to blend.
Assemble Pie: Roll out 1 dough disk on floured work surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish [er, I used a metal one and it was just fine]. Trim excess dough, leaving 3/4-inch overhang.
Roll out second dough disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Cut into fourteen 1/2-inch-wide strips. Spoon filling into crust. Arrange 7 dough strips atop filling, spacing evenly. Form lattice by placing remaining dough strips in opposite direction atop filling. Trim ends of dough strips even with overhang of bottom crust. Fold strip ends and overhang under, pressing to seal. Crimp edges decoratively.
Brush glaze over crust. transfer pie to baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake pie until golden and filling thickens, about another 25 minutes. [The original recipe suggested a total baking time of 1 hour and 55 minutes. No joke. Mine was done in just shy of an hour. So just keep a watchful eye on your little pie.] Transfer pie to rack and cool completely. Share with deserving friends.
N.B. If the crust starts to brown too much mid-baking, cover the pie in foil.
