Food Fairy: Easy as … pie?

Very few things seem certain these days, but here’s a definite: Eight days from now, people all over the country will have pie. It might be pecan or apple or pumpkin or buttermilk, but there will certainly be pie on most plates in America.

If you don’t care much about pie, or are already stressed enough about Thanksgiving thank-you-very-much, please stop reading here and add “pie” to your shopping list. There’s not a thing wrong with buying a nice pie at the grocery store. If you like to make pie but not crust, you can be sure that no one is going to be mad at your pie if you use a ready-made crust. If you’re cooking for someone who is gluten-free, you can (and you probably should) get a crust ready to bake as well.

For those who’d like the full Thanksgiving meal experience, however, pie crust is not nearly as hard to make as people would have you believe. It’s actually one of my very favorite things to make. There’s something soothing about the texture of butter at the perfect temperature and the soft, delicate feel of flour. There’s also some serious satisfaction in turning out a simple, delicious crust with competence.

Not all pie crusts are the same, of course. I like an unsweetened crust whether I’m making cherry pie or gruyere quiche. My favorite recipe, below, will work well for your pumpkin pie and for a turkey pot-pie from your leftovers. My husband likes a sweetened crust, and the simple enriched sweet crust recipe below is great for tarts or blind-baked and filled with a mousse.

If you don’t bake often, double check that your flour is still fresh before you make your crust. Old flour can go rancid and develop an “off” taste. You’ll be able to tell with a sniff.

— Julie Cross has left the restaurant world, but will always want to have fun with food — email her at jacross@dcn.org or follow her on Facebook and Instagram at Julie Cross Cooks.

All Purpose Single Pie Crust

The vodka in this recipe makes the dough much easier to handle and the crust super flakey and tender. You may replace it with 1 tablespoon ice water if you prefer.

Ingredients:

(may be doubled)
8 tablespoons cold butter
1¼ cups all purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons very cold vodka
1 tablespoons very cold water

Putting it together:

Mix the flour and salt together. Cut the butter into chunks and add to the flour. With a fork or pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour until it resembles sand or cornmeal.

Add the vodka and stir gently until the dough sticks together. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured pastry cloth, silicone dough mat or clean counter. Knead it just a couple of turns; if it doesn’t stick together, sprinkle up to 1 more tablespoon of cold water over it. Roll the dough out very gently into a circle 2½ inches bigger than the top of the pie plate you’re using; if there are any tears, use a bit of dough from the edge to patch it. Work with care; you don’t want to roll out the crust more than once, since every handling toughens it.

Put the pie plate face down on the dough and cut around it 2 inches away from the rim with a butter knife (this isn’t nuclear physics; close enough is fine.) Turn the pie plate right side up and take all the trimmings off the cloth. Use the cloth to fold the pie crust into quarters. Pick up the quarter circle of pie crust and put it in the pie plate with the point at the center of the plate; unfold.

Carefully press the crust into the pan; you may have to make a little fold to get it to fit perfectly. With a sharp knife, trim the edge of the crust to fit. Bake according to your pie recipe.

Enriched Sweet Crust

While this recipe calls for milk as the liquid, I’ve substituted half amaretto with very good results.

Ingredients:

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon white sugar
½ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter
¼ cup milk, divided

Putting it together:

Mix the flour, sugar and salt together. Cut the butter into chunks and add to the flour. With a fork or pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour until it resembles sand or cornmeal.

Add 2 tablespoons milk and stir gently until the dough sticks together. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured pastry cloth, silicone dough mat or clean counter. Knead it just a couple of turns; if it doesn’t stick together, sprinkle up to 2 more tablespoons of milk over it. Roll the dough out very gently into a circle 2½ inches bigger than the top of the pie plate you’re using; if there are any tears, use a bit of dough from the edge to patch it. Work with care; you don’t want to roll out the crust more than once, since every handling toughens it.

Put the pie plate face down on the dough and cut around it 2 inches away from the rim with a butter knife. Turn the pie plate right side up and take all the trimmings off the cloth. Use the cloth to fold the pie crust into quarters. Pick up the quarter circle of pie crust and put it in the pie plate with the point at the center of the plate; unfold. Carefully press the crust into the pan; you may have to make a little fold to get it to fit perfectly. With a sharp knife, trim the edge of the crust to fit. Bake according to your pie recipe.

Pumpkin Pie

You can cook down a pumpkin for your pie, but it probably won’t taste right to you — most canned pumpkin is made from a variety of pumpkin that’s not widely commercially available. Be careful to buy plain canned pumpkin and not canned pumpkin pie mix, which is too sweet and oddly spiced.

Ingredients:

15 ounces pumpkin puree
¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ginger
¼ teaspoon nutmeg or allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1½ cups evaporated milk
2 slightly beaten eggs
1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

Putting it together:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix all ingredients well. Pour into an unbaked 9-inch pie shell. Put pie on cookie sheet in oven. Bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake about 45 minutes longer or until an inserted knife comes out clean or to an internal temperature of 175 degrees. Let cool one hour before refrigerating or serving. Because it’s a custard based pie, pumpkin pie should be refrigerated.

Pecan Pie

The corn syrup used in baking is not the same as the “evil” high-fructose corn syrup we try to avoid. It’s by no means a health food, but it won’t hurt you in your holiday treats.

Ingredients:

10 oz. (2¼ cups) whole pecans
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla OR
1 tablespoon rum
½ teaspoon salt
1 unbaked pie shell

Putting it together:

Spread pecans on a cookie sheet and bake at 325 degrees until toasted and fragrant, about 6 minutes. Keep a close eye on these — nuts like to burn. Remove nuts from oven and increase temperature to 350 degrees.

Place a large piece of foil in the pie shell and fill with pie weights or beans. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, until set but not browned. Let cool slightly before you remove foil and weights.

Set aside ¼ cup of nuts and roughly chop the rest.

Mix together eggs, sugar, corn syrup, butter, vanilla or rum and salt until uniform. Stir in chopped pecans and pour into crust. Arrange reserved nuts on top as desired.

Bake until edges of the custard are set and brown and middle is very slightly jiggly, or until the middle tests at 200 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, usually 40-45 minutes. Let cool completely before serving. Store in refrigerator.

Chocolate Cream Pie

I’d use the slightly sweeter enriched crust for this one. Cream pies don’t hold well, so eat this one up in the first two days.

Ingredients:

4 cups milk
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup sugar
6 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 unbaked pie shell
Whipped cream

Putting it together:

Place a large piece of foil in the pie shell and fill with pie weights or beans. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, until set but not browned. Let cool slightly before you remove foil & weights. Return pie shell to oven and bake an additional 10 minutes or until nicely browned. Remove from oven and let cool.

Put chocolate and milk in large (at least 8-cup) bowl. Microwave* on High 1 minute; stir. Continue microwaving in 1 minute increments until chocolate is melted. Mix sugar and cornstarch together and add to milk. Stir well. Microwave on high for 1 minute and stir gently. Continue microwaving at 1 minute increments, until pudding becomes very thick and no longer looks grainy. Stir in vanilla. Let cool slightly before pouring into pie shell. Refrigerate until completely cool, at least two hours. Top with whipped cream as desired.