Pie Making with Sarah L.

Pastry Dough (Pie Crust)

Makes: Two double crusts plus some to spare.

3 ¾ cups  ………………………………. all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons…………………………. salt

1 ½ cups plus 6Tablespoons………cold  unsalted butter cut into chunks

(This is almost 4 cubes/one pound. Just cut off two Tablespoons from one cube).

1 ½ teaspoons……………………………..distilled white vinegar

½ cup  plus up to 4 Tablespoons …..cold water

In a bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Scatter the butter pieces over the flour and cut in with a pastry blender or two kitchen knives until the butter is the size of peas. Add the vinegar, and then gradually add enough of the cold water, stirring and tossing with a fork, until the dough starts to come together. It should be moist but not completely uniform, and its texture will be slightly crumbly.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, separate dough into four equal parts, press gently to form each part into a disk 1inch thick, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight. (Or freeze for up to 3 months, and then thaw, still wrapped, in the refrigerator overnight.)

Pie Filling

This basic recipe can be added to any fruit fresh or frozen fruit

4 cups fresh or frozen fruit (Blueberries or other multi-berry mix, apples, cherries)

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

½ cup sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (2 Tablespoons for apple)

Pinch salt

 

For apple pie filling add:

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

In a bowl toss together berries or apples, lemon juice, and vanilla. Add the ½ cup sugar, flour, and the salt (Cinnamon and nutmeg if your making apple), and toss again to coat the fruit evenly. Roll out pie shell very thin.  Place in pie tin and poke holes all around with a fork.  Trim off excess edges. Pour filling into the pie shell.

Place top crust.  Vent with a design. Sprinkle with sugar or cinnamon sugar.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake until the fruit is bubbling and the crust is golden, 45-60 minutes. Let cool on a rack. Serve with a big scoop of ice cream.