This post was written by my foodie sister Robin, who is now sharing all of her favorite recipes and kitchen tips regularly on the new “Make It and Love It – in the KITCHEN” portion of this blog. Try a few of her recipes…your belly will thank you! -Ashley
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Hey guys, it’s Robin….and it’s great to be back!
Pie crust. Let’s talk pie crust.
If you are like me, a lovely flaky pie crust is hard to come by. Pie crust for me is just so high maintenance it seems like Russian Roulette if it comes out or not. It was my mother who made the perfect crust growing up…and had the “touch”. Then came in this whole gluten-free thing (more than half of our immediate family has Celiac Disease…and many of our extended family does as well) so making delicious and flaky pie crust had been benched for quite some time. Thirteen years ago (when many of us were diagnosed) gluten free pie crust was something awful and you just ate the filling….and that was it.
Since that time, my mother had to go gluten-free as well and came across a recipe that was something that held it’s own…plus it is really hard to ruin.
And another thing — it actually tastes good. As in, those who eat gluten love it and request it as well! Because yep, it’s flaky, it’s buttery, and it’s absolutely DELICIOUS!!
***And one more thing……do my mom a favor and make your edges pretty. Nothing hurts her eyes more than seeing ugly pie crust edges. You’ll see her hands down below (when I was with her several months ago), and her world would be a happier place if everyone in the world fluted their pie crust edges. Ha!
Anyway, because of all those requests from both gluten-eaters and NON….. I thought it would be good to share this tasty Gluten Free Pie Crust recipe with you!
Here is what you need:
First, you’ll want to sift all the dry ingredients — the tapioca flour, cornstarch, potato starch (make sure it is starch not flour), rice flour, xanthan gum, salt and sugar. Then cut in the butter and Crisco with a pastry cutter or fork.
Cut the Crisco and butter until it becomes pea sized. Mix thoroughly together all the liquids (egg, vinegar, and ice water) in a separate bowl than add it to the butter mixture and mix well.
It should look like this. Divide it into two balls if you are making large pies or divide into three balls for small pies. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
After it has been chilled, roll our your ball between two sheets of plastic wrap.
Roll it out until it is about 1 1/2 – 2 inches larger than your pie plate on all edges.
Flip the dough onto your pie plate and roll the excess edges under until it meets the edge of the pie plate.
Then you can make a pretty edge. Remember my mom’s request? Yep, take 2 minutes more and pretty up your crust!
Just pinch the dough with your two fingers around your thumb and it gives a nice fluted edge. Repeat all the way around the edge. (Thanks for being my hand model, mom!)
Now doesn’t that look pretty? Pay no attention to my patchwork on the far side. But that’s the beauty of this recipe….patchwork is totally allowed! (At this point you can go ahead and add your egg-based filling and skip the rest and put it in the oven. If it is a baked fruit filling, add before fluting the edges then roll out a top crust to cover and flute the top and bottom together and then send to the oven. Be sure to make vents on the top crust too!)
Go ahead and prick the dough with a fork. This is to avoid bubbles and it helps it to keep its’ shape.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes in a 425 degree oven or until it has a touch of brown to it. (Our mom likes to bake it for 10 minutes and then covers the edges with tin foil for the remaining 10 minutes so the edges don’t brown faster than the rest of the shell. You can also buy Pie Crust Shields like THESE that will do the same thing.)
There you have it. Now it is just waiting for something luscious to fill it to make it a perfect peach, strawberry, lemon meringue, coconut cream, chocolate cream, or whatever pie you want to make it. YUM!
-Robin
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No-Fail GLUTEN FREE Pie Crust – Recipe Card
yield: 2 large crusts or 3 small
Sift dry ingredients together. Cut in the butter and shortening with a fork or pastry cutter until the crumbles become pea sized. In a separate bowl mix together the egg, vinegar, and ice water until thoroughly blended. Add this mixture to your butter mixture until well blended. Divide into two balls for large pies or into three balls for smaller pies. Refrigerate the dough balls for at least an hour, covered with plastic wrap. Roll out and set in your pie plate and prick the dough with a fork. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 425 degrees or until lightly brown. (Or bake for 10 minutes, cover the edges with tin foil or pie shields, and then bake for the remaining 10 minutes.)
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