Pie crusts scare most regular cooks, but they don’t have to be scary at all! I use one of these three recipes for all of my pie crust needs. The Pat In Pan Pie Crust is super easy for beginners.
It is quick and does not require any rolling or chilling. It’s an old recipe and was one of the first things my Mama taught me to bake after biscuits and cornbread! The next recipe is the classic Wesson Oil Pie Crust. It is also fast and easy but requires rolling between two sheets of wax paper.
The last one is my personal favorite for things such as chicken pot pie, quiche, apple pie, pumpkin pie and fried hand pies made with either meat or fruit. It is very forgiving, freezes well and has yet to fail me. My favorite fat combo to use in the recipe is ½ lard and ½ butter. All three will yield flaky crusts.
Pat In Pan Pie Crust
1 ¾ cups sifted all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoon sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoon cold milk
In a 9 inch pie pan, mix the flour, salt and sugar together. Add in the oil and mix well. Add in the cold milk 1 tablespoon at a time. Use a tiny bit more milk if needed. Mix lightly into a ball. Do not overwork it. Pat the crust into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Flute the edges. To blind bake – that is bake the crust and fill with a cold filling - prick the bottom and sides with a fork and bake at 475 for around 10 minutes or until light brown. Let cool and fill. To bake a pie with a filling – like a pecan pie - pour filling into crust and bake as directed. Cover the edges with foil if needed to prevent overbrowning the edges.
This makes one bottom crust for one pie.
The Original Wesson Oil Rolled Pie Crust
1 ½ cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons Wesson (or other brand of vegetable oil)
3 tablespoons milk
Mix flour and salt together. Mix oil and milk in a measuring cup, but do not mix together. Pour all at once over flour mixture. Stir until just mixed. Do not overmix. Flatten into a disc and put between two sheets of wax paper. Roll until it is 2 inches larger than your pie pan. Remove top paper, very carefully flip crust into pan, and peel away wax paper. Trim and flute edges. Blind bake by pricking bottom and sides with a fork, bake at 425 for 10-15 minutes or until light brown. Or fill and bake as directed in your recipe. This makes one bottom crust for one pie.
Easy Roll-out Pie Crust
4 cups of flour
1 tea baking powder
1 2/3 cup lard or Crisco
1/2 cup water
1 egg
1 tablespoon vinegar
Mix dry. Cut in Crisco. Add wet and mix. It can be re-rolled without getting tough.
It is fall, y’all, and because you will be needing something to fill your pie crust, allow me to share my Pumpkin Pie recipe.
Tip: Heating the mix before pouring into the pie shell shaves off baking time and the egg white brushed on the crust prevents soggy bottoms. I have included instructions on using fresh pumpkins too. Pie pumpkins are smaller, sweeter and will yield more pulp per pound, but large carving type pumpkins will work too.
Pumpkin Pie
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin or 2 cups fresh pumpkin puree
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
½ cup white or brown sugar or a combo
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (OR 1 ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¾ teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon cloves)
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust or a graham cracker crust
1 egg white, slightly beaten (optional)
To roast a fresh pumpkin for 1 pie, start with a 3 pound pie pumpkin or a 6 pound carving pumpkin. Scrub it and rinse it, cut it into large pieces, remove the seeds and strings. Put the pieces on a baking tray cut sides down and roast at 375 for one to one and half hours or until fork tender. Remove pan and let cool. Remove pulp from rind and process in a food processor or a blender.
Drain puree in a cheesecloth lined colander for at least an hour to remove excess liquid.
Measure out 2 cups and proceed with recipe.
You can also put the freshly cleaned and cut pieces into a large pot of boiling water and boil them 20-30 minutes until fork tender. Drain, cool and remove pulp from rind. Process in a food processor or a blender. Drain puree in a cheesecloth lined colander for at least an hour, stirring occasionally, to remove excess liquid. Measure out 2 cups pulp and proceed with recipe. Mix all ingredients together. Heat the ingredients just to the boiling point gently in a pot, stirring the entire time.
Brush the bottom and sides of the pie crust with the slightly beaten egg white. This will prevent the crust from becoming soggy. Pour in the pre heated filling.
Place pie onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes or until knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cover crust edges with foil if they get too brown. Turn oven off, open the oven door slightly and let the pie sit for 5 more minutes. This prevents cracks.
Remove pie and let cool completely. Store leftovers in refrigerator.
