Since I started with a pie recipe I might as well add a couple other family favorite pie recipes and a basic pie crust.
Pie Crust
2 cups flour (I either do 1/2 ww, 1/2 white or all ww flour)
1 tsp. salt
2/3 cup + 2 Tbsp. palm shortening or chilled butter
1/4 cup water w/ 1 tsp. vinegar
Sift flour and salt. Cut in shortening in parts. First 1/2 to look like corn meal. Second 1/2 to look like small peas. Add water/vinegar and mix well. Roll out on floured surface. Makes top and bottom crust.
**Edited 8/5/10 – Finally tried making pie crust in the food processor…soooo much easier than by hand. Instead of cutting in the butter with a pastry blender or by hand, just pulse the processor. Then pour in the water while it’s running and let it go until a ball of dough forms.
Blueberry Pie
4 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 cup sugar (organic cane sugar or sucanat)
3 Tbsp. cornstarch (or arrowroot…that’s what I use)
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
Heat oven to 450. Combine blueberries with remaining ingredients. Fill pastry lined 9″ pie pan. Add top crust. Put slits in top. Bake at 450 for 10 min. Reduce temperature to 350 and bake for 30-40 min.
Apple Pie
7-8 apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1 cup sugar (organic cane sugar or sucanat)
2 Tbsp. flour (whole wheat works fine)
dash of salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
Heat oven to 400. Place apples in pastry lined 9″ pie pan. Mix sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add to apples. Dot with butter. Add top crust. Put slits in top. Brust top crust with milk (sprinkle sugar on top if desired). Bake for 50 min.
I have a blueberry pie in the oven as I type. 🙂 Although I ended up having to use a refrigerated pie crust b/c I cannot find my rolling pins for the life of me. I’ve looked everywhere I can think of and don’t understand how I could lose 2 rolling pins!
Have you ever used lard in your crust? My grandma always used to, but now my mom and her sisters all use butter. I’m going to try lard tonight. I’ll just be using my home-canned cherry pie filling for it, though… I’d love to make it fresh, but I don’t have the time.
I think I tried it once and it worked well. I always hear it makes the best crust. I have lots of lard in the fridge. Maybe I’ll have to use that next week. I’m hoping to at least make a pumpkin pie.