Shortcut Pie Crust Ala New York Times Food

PIE CRUST

Steps:

• In a food processor, pulse together the flour and salt. Add butter and pulse until the mixture forms lima bean-size pieces. Slowly add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until the dough just comes together. It should be moist, but not wet.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gather into a ball. Flatten into a disk with the heel of your hand. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.

PERFECT PIE CRUST

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt to combine. Add the butter, tossing the cubes through the flour until the pieces are separated from one another and each piece is coated.
• Cut the butter into the flour by pressing the pieces between your palms or fingertips, flattening the cubes into big shards and continuing to toss them in the flour to recoat the shards. The size of the butter will vary depending on the kind of pie you're making: For fruit pies, stop when the butter pieces are about the size of walnut halves. For custard pies, stop when the butter pieces are smaller, about the size of peas.
• Make a well in the center of the mixture. Add 3 tablespoons ice water and mix it in by tossing the flour in the bowl. (This tossing movement lets the moisture incorporate without allowing too much gluten formation.)
• Continue to add ice water 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time until the dough begins to come together. As it comes together, fold it over itself a few times to make sure it's homogenous. The dough should hold together without noticeable cracks (a sign of underhydration), but it should not be wet or tacky to the touch (a sign of overhydration).
• Form the dough into a disk about 1-inch thick. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before using, and up to 2 days. (It can also be frozen for up to 3 months, then thawed overnight before using.)

BAKEWELL TART WITH CRANBERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Prepare the Shortcut Pie Crust through Step 3.
• Prepare the almond frangipane: In a food processor, cream together the butter, granulated sugar and orange zest until pale and fluffy, about 30 seconds. With the machine running, add eggs one at a time, emulsifying each one fully before adding the next, and scraping down the sides of the work bowl as needed. Fold in the almond meal and chill until firm, about 1 hour.
• Working over an 11-inch fluted tart shell, prepare the Shortcut Pie Crust through Step 4, then chill, at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days. (This can be done ahead.)
• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the chilled crust until just cooked but not browned, about 15 minutes. (The crust will continue to cook while the tart bakes, so expect it to darken in color when it bakes the second time.) Set aside to cool completely, about 1 hour, while you make the filling.
• If you are making your own cranberry sauce, combine cranberries, granulated sugar and 2 tablespoons water in a small saucepan, and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the berries fully break down, 20 to 25 minutes. Add orange juice near the end of cooking. Set aside. (You should have about 3/4 cup sauce.)
• Spread the cranberry sauce in an even layer over the base of the cooled crust. It is easiest to do this when the cranberry sauce is slightly warm. (If you are using chilled sauce from the refrigerator, warm it slightly first before spreading.) Scoop the almond frangipane on top of the cranberry sauce. (Don't try to spread it; it will distribute itself evenly as it cooks.)
• Bake the tart on a baking sheet at 350 degrees until it's golden brown and fully set in the center, 60 to 75 minutes. Cool completely, then remove from the pan and serve with crème fraîche.

PERFECT PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Dice the butter and return it to the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and shortening. Pulse 8 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of peas. With the machine running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball. Dump out on a floured board and roll into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Cut the dough in half. Roll each piece on a well-floured board into a circle, rolling from the center to the edge, turning and flouring the dough to make sure it doesn't stick to the board. Fold the dough in half, place in a pie pan, and unfold to fit the pan. Repeat with the top crust.

WALNUT PIE WITH MOLASSES AND ORANGE

Steps:

• Prepare the Shortcut Pie Crust through Step 3.
• Once the dough has chilled, working over a 9-inch pie dish, prepare the crust through Step 4, then chill, at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days. (This can be done ahead.)
• When you're ready to bake the pie, heat the oven to 350 degrees and arrange two racks near the center of the oven. Place the chilled pie crust on a sheet pan, and the walnuts on a separate sheet pan. Transfer both to the oven. Bake until the walnuts are evenly golden throughout, 12 to 15 minutes. Continue to bake the pie crust until it turns golden and is fully cooked, another 10 to 15 minutes (for a total of about 25 minutes). Finely chop the walnuts to between the size of a steel-cut oat and a pea. Variety in size is nice.
• While the pastry bakes, prepare the filling: Add the corn syrup, orange zest and juice, molasses, ginger and salt to a small saucepan and warm over low heat just until the syrups liquefy and loosen. (Do not boil.) Add the bread crumbs and toasted walnuts to the warmed mixture, stir and let sit until slightly cooled.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the heavy cream and eggs together with a fork to combine, then fold it into the cooled walnut mixture. Pour into the pie crust and bake on a sheet pan until the center of the pie just sets, about 25 minutes. Serve at room temperature or just above, with plenty of heavy cream for drizzling.

SHORTCUT PIE CRUST

Steps:

• TOOLS: Measuring cups, Measuring spoons, Bowl, Pastry Blender and Plastic wrap.
• Combine 1 1/8 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons sugar in our processor bowl. Mix.
• Add 8 tablespoons of ice cold butter to the flour mixture.
• Using the pastry blender blend the mixture until the flour and butter looks like cornmeal.
• Add 3 tablespoons of ice cold water to the mixture. Now mix the dough until it forms a ball. Add more water if the mixture is not forming a ball.
• Form into a disk and wrap it in plastic wrap. Put the dough in the fridge and let it chill over night.

BASIC SHORT-CRUST PASTRY

Steps:

• Put flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer or food processor. Add butter and quickly cut it into flour until mixture resembles coarse meal.
• Add ice water and mix briefly, about 30 seconds, to form a soft dough. Remove dough, shape into a thick disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Bring to cool room temperature before rolling.
• To roll, lightly flour dough and counter. Roll out gradually, periodically letting dough rest for a moment before continuing. This makes rolling easier and will keep dough from shrinking back during baking.
• Roll dough to a thin round approximately 13 inches in diameter, then trim to make a 12-inch circle (refrigerate and save trimmings for patching). Lay dough loosely into a 9 1/2-inch fluted tart pan with removable bottom, letting it relax a bit. Fold overlap back inside to make a double thickness, then press firmly against the pan so the finished edge is slightly higher than the pan. Refrigerate or freeze for an hour before pre-baking.

HAZELNUT, PEAR AND CARDAMOM TART

Steps:

• Prepare the Shortcut Pie Crust through Step 3.
• When ready to make the pie, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Roast the hazelnuts on a baking sheet until evenly browned and skins are loosened, 25 to 30 minutes. While they are still warm, rub them together in a dish towel to remove the skins. Cool the skinned hazelnuts, and then blitz them to a fine meal with the flour in the food processor. Transfer to a medium bowl and set aside.
• Crush the cardamom pods and retrieve the seeds, discarding the pods, then crush the seeds to a fine powder using a mortar and pestle.
• In a food processor, cream the butter, granulated sugar and crushed cardamom until pale and fluffy. With the machine running, add eggs one at a time, emulsifying each one fully before adding the next, and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Transfer to the bowl with the hazelnut meal and stir to combine. Chill until firm, about 1 hour.
• While the frangipane chills, shape and bake the crust: Working over an 11-inch fluted tart pan, prepare the Shortcut Pie Crust through Step 4, then chill, at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days. (This can be done ahead.)
• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the chilled crust until just-cooked but not browned, about 15 minutes. (The crust will continue to cook while the tart bakes, so expect it to darken in color when it bakes the second time.) Cool completely.
• Scoop the hazelnut frangipane into the crust. (Don't try to spread it; it will distribute itself evenly as it cooks.) Nestle the pears into the frangipane, tucking some underneath the frangipane and leaving others on top.
• Bake on a baking sheet until the frangipane is fully set in the center and the crust is golden brown, 75 to 90 minutes. Cool on a wire rack completely, then remove from the pan and serve with crème fraîche.

SHORTCUT PIE CRUST ALA NEW YORK TIMES

Steps:

• Combine the flour, confectioners' sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor.
• Add the cubed butter and blitz until the flour mixture has a sandy texture with some pea-size butter bits.
• Add the egg yolks and blitz then pulse just until the pastry begins to come together.
• Tip the pastry out onto a rectangle of plastic wrap. Using your hands, form it into a 6-inch log. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill, at least 3 hours or up to 3 days, or wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. If using frozen dough, allow to soften slightly in the fridge for an hour before using.
• Using the large holes on a box grater, grate 3/4 of the chilled pastry directly into your pie dish or tart pan. Working quickly by hand, press the grated pastry into the dish, starting with the sides then covering the bottom, grating more of the chilled pastry into the dish as needed to cover evenly.
• Pay attention to the seam between the sides and the base, making sure it is the same thickness as the rest of the pastry: The crust should form an even layer that is about 1/4-inch thick. (Save any leftover pastry for another use.)
• Chill, at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days. (This can be done ahead.)
• The crust can take various routes from here; refer to whichever pie or tart recipe you're using for guidance. If blind-baking this crust, it cooks best at 350 degrees. Tip If you have extra dough, you can make thumbprint pies from them: Butter a muffin tin. Pull off ball-size pieces of chilled leftover pastry and press into buttered tin, making a well in the center. Fill with jam or jelly, leaving a little room to top with cream later. Bake at 350 degrees until dough is cooked, 30 to 40 minutes.
• Top with whipped or plain heavy cream and eat in one bite.