Dads Pie Crust I Food

DAD'S DELICIOUS APPLE PIE IN-A-BAG

Steps:

• About an hour and a half before serving pie:.
• Prepare favorite pastry pie crust (ie Dad's Mazola No-Roll Pie/Pastry Shell). Then make pie shell having fluted or rope edge.
• Start heating oven to 400 d F. Wash, pare then quarter apples; cut each quarter into 4 pieces, making 7 cups good-sized chunks.
• In a large bowl, toss apple chunks with a mixture of 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, and the nutmeg or cinnamon, until each apple chunk is completely coated. Fill pie shell with apple chunks, piling them high in the center of the pie; then sprinkle them with lemon juice.
• Thoroughly mix 1/2 cup each of sugar and flour, and the butter, into a soft paste; spread over top of piled apple chunks.
• Place pie in paper bag (so the opening is to the side, not the top), closing and stapling open end (I fold over the open end once, then staple shut with a staple or two). Set on rack in center of oven and bake about 1 hour (you may have to bake longer: up to one hour and forty five minutes, depending on your apples), until apples test done and pie is golden and caramelized. (Note: Never leave pie unattended while baking, especially when using the paper bag method!).
• When pie is nicely browned, remove pie from oven and let cool in the bag for 5-10 minutes.
• Carefully remove pie from the paper bag and place pie on rack. Let pie cool on rack for about 30 minutes before slicing.
• Then, while still warm, cut pie into wedges and serve as is, with favorite cheese, or topped with vanilla ice cream.

FLAKY ALL BUTTER PIE CRUST

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour and salt. Pulse a few times to combine.
• Add in cold, cubed butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse sand.
• Alternatively, you can cut the butter into the flour with your fingertips or a pastry cutter if you don't have a food processor. You'll need to work quickly so the butter doesn't melt.
• Drizzle in the water and pulse until the mixture starts to form clumps.
• Add more water a tablespoon at a time if the mixture looks too dry and won't clump together when squeezed in your hand.
• Once mixed, pour the pie dough onto a piece of plastic wrap.
• Quickly and gently form into a ball and flatten into a disc. Do not work the dough too much, or the crust will be tough.
• Wrap in the plastic and chill in the fridge for one hour.
• After chilling, lightly flour the table and roll the pie dough about 1/4" thick and large enough to cover the 9" pie plate.
• Wrap the dough around your rolling pin and transport to an ungreased pie plate. Gently lift and press the dough into the pie plate.
• With a sharp knife or kitchen shears, trim off the excess dough overhang so that it's flush with the outer edge of the pie plate.
• Pinch the edges of the dough to create a nice edge and make sure to add your pie dough trimmings to fill in any thin spots.
• You can flute the edge of the dough by using your knuckles to make a pretty decorative edge.
• Stick the pie plate in the freezer for 30 minutes until firm, this will help keep the butter in the crust nice and cool and help the edges keep their shape.
• After freezing, fill with your favorite filling and bake per your recipe's instructions, or blind bake the crust (instructions below) and fill with a no bake pudding or cream.
• In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour and salt. Pulse a few times to combine.
• Add in cold, cubed butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse sand.
• Drizzle in the water and pulse until the mixture starts to form clumps.
• Add more water a tablespoon at a time if the mixture looks too dry and won't clump together when squeezed in your hand.
• Have two sheets of plastic wrap ready. Divide the dough in half and place each half on a sheet of plastic wrap.
• Quickly and gently form into a round disc. Do not work the dough too much, or the crust will be tough.
• Pop the two discs in the fridge for an hour.
• After your discs have chilled, lightly flour your work surface. Remove one disc from the fridge, unwrap it, and place it on your floured surface.
• Roll the dough out to about 1/4" thick and large enough to cover the 9" pie plate.
• Wrap the dough around your rolling pin and transport it to an ungreased pie plate. Gently lift and press the dough into the pie plate, do not trim the overhang at this point.
• Pop the pie plate with the bottom crust back in the fridge and grab the other disc of dough.
• Roll out until it's about 1/4" thick and set aside.
• Remove the bottom crust from the fridge and fill with your desired filling (apple, peach, blueberry, chicken pot pie filling, etc...).
• To put the two pie crusts together, grab your rolled out top crust and place it on top of the bottom crust and filling.
• Trim off the excess top and bottom overhang around the outer edge of the pie plate.
• Pinch and crimp the outer edges of the dough together to seal. Use your extra pie dough trimmings to fill in any thin spots.
• Slice some holes in the top crust for ventilation. If the dough feels like it's getting too soft, allow the pie to chill in the fridge or freezer for 30 minutes to firm up.
• Once chilled, remove the pie from the fridge and proceed with your recipe's baking instructions.

DAD'S FAVORITE COCONUT CREAM PIE

Steps:

• For the crust: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment and set it aside.
• In a food processor, combine the chocolate cookies with the coconut oil and salt and pulse until the mixture is sandy and starts to clump together. Add the coconut and pulse just a couple more times to get it evenly distributed.
• Press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan, pressing it up against the sides to give it a 1- to 1 1/2-inch-tall crust. Bake until set, about 25 minutes. Let it cool.
• For the filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together the milk, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, salt and egg yolks. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the shredded coconut and pour into the cooled crust. Refrigerate until set, about 2 hours. (This can be done up to 2 days in advance; keep covered in the refrigerator.)
• For the topping: Toast the coconut in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Let it cool.
• With an electric mixer or in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream to stiff peaks. Spread it on the pie, then sprinkle with the toasted coconut flakes. Top with shaved chocolate or chocolate sprinkles. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
• When you're ready to take it out of the pan, run a small offset spatula around the edge and carefully remove the sides. Enjoy!

PIE CRUST (SHORTCRUST PASTRY)

Steps:

• Pulse Dry: Place flour, sugar and salt in food processor. Pulse twice to combine.
• Cut in butter: Scatter butter across surface. Pulse 5 times until the largest pieces are the size of chickpeas.
• Add chilled water: With the motor running on low, pour 2.5 tbsp of water into the tube feeder.
• Form crumbs: Keep blitzing for 10 seconds until crumbs form (also see video). Pinch between fingers - they should stick and form a dough.
• HAND option: Whisk flour, sugar and salt in large bowl. Rub butter into flour with tips of fingers until it resembles crumbs - it should look the same as using a food processor. Then mix in cold water with rubber spatula, then proceed with steps below.
• Form disc: Tip crumbs out onto work surface, bring together into dome (don't knead), pat into 2cm/ 4/5" thick disc.
• Chill: Wrap in clingwrap then refrigerate 1 hour (up to 2 days, otherwise freeze).
• Dust with flour: Sprinkle work surface with flour, unwrap dough and place on the flour. Sprinkle top with flour, dust rolling pin with flour.
• Roll out: Roll out into round that's 10cm/4" larger than 22.5cm/9" pie tin. Patch up and roll over cracks as necessary
• Transfer to pie dish: Gently roll the pastry so it wraps around the rolling pin. Unroll it over the pie dish.
• Drape pastry into pie tin (do not stretch/pull, causes shrinkage).
• Trim: If making a pie with NO LID (like Pumpkin Pie), then trim edges with scissors leaving a 1 cm / 2/5" overhang. If making a pie with a lid (like a Meat Pie) then trim edges so they align with the edge of the pie tin (ie no excess overhang).
• Tuck excess under, if appliable (ie per step above, if making a no lid pie). Then crimp or decorate edge as desired.
• Refrigerate: Put pie crust in the freezer for 15 - 30 minutes (while oven heats up). This helps prevent shrinkage, firms up the butter again (flakiness!) and helps to ensure decorative crimped edges remain in tact.
• Baking options (Note 4) - Blind bake the pie crust if it will be baked once filled (eg Meat Pie, Pumpkin Pie). Fully bake the pie crust if it will not be baked once filled.
• Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F (180°C fan).
• Line & weigh down: Place 2 large pieces of parchment/baking paper crosswise over the pastry, then fill with baking beads or lots of rice or dried beans to weigh it down. (Note 2)
• Bake 1 covered: Bake for 15 minutes, then remove from oven.
• Bake 2 uncovered: Use excess paper to CAREFULLY remove hot beads, then return to oven for 5 minutes or until base is light golden (doesn't need to be 100% cooked though).
• Cool: Remove from oven. Cool 15 minutes in the pie tin before filling (another measure to avoid soggy base).
• Follow directions per Blind Baking steps above BUT bake at 190°C/375°F (170°C fan) covered with baking beads for 25 minutes, then 15 minutes uncovered until golden. Fully cool before filling.
• Fill and bake per directions of chosen pie filling - such as Pumpkin Pie, Pecan Pie, Meat Pie. The par baked pastry will not be 100% cooked, it finishes cooking with the filling. It's cooked enough so the crust will not go soggy.