Best Half Half And Half Pie Crust Recipes

FLAKY TENDER PIE CRUST

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add the shortening and butter; use a pastry blender to cut the butter and shortening into the flour until the mixture resembles a coarse meal with a few pea-sized pieces of butter/shortening.
• Sprinkle the vinegar and water over the mixture. Mix with a fork, just until the mixture holds together when squeezed in your palm - it will still look crumbly in the bowl. If your home is particularly dry, you may need to add a bit more water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, until you reach the correct consistency.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured board. Pat into a circle; cut in half. Place one half in the refrigerator while you roll out the second to fit your pie plate. Remove second half from fridge and roll out to top the pie, baking according to your recipe.
• If totally blind baking, bake at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes or just until golden.

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.

FRIED PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Combine butter, coconut, flour and brown sugar in a sauce pan. Cook on medium heat until a rich brown color, stirring frequently.
• Pour into pie plate and press out to edges evenly with a fork.
• Allow to cool before filling.

EASY PIE CRUST

Steps:

• To make the dough for the pie crust, mix 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1 teaspoon each salt and sugar in a medium-size bowl. Cut 2 sticks chilled unsalted butter into pieces. With a pastry blender, cut in butter, working until mixture resembles coarse meal.
• Add 4 tablespoons ice water; work with hands until dough comes together. If dough is still crumbly, add more ice water a tablespoon at a time (up to 4 more tablespoons). Do not overwork.
• Divide dough in half, and flatten halves into disks. Wrap disks separately in plastic; refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• To form the pie shell, roll the dough on a floured surface into a 14-inch round. Wrap around rolling pin and carefully unroll over a 9-inch pie plate.
• Fit gently into bottom and side of plate. Use kitchen shears to trim dough to a 1-inch overhang; fold under, and seal to form a rim.
• Crimp rim with fingertips and knuckle. Repeat with remaining dough; wrap each with plastic, stack, and freeze.

BEST-EVER PIE CRUST

Steps:

• To make the dough:
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Sprinkle half of the butter and lard over the flour and use your fingertips, a pastry blender, or two knives to cut and mix until the mixture resembles large peas. Sprinkle in the remaining butter and lard and cut and mix to coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the dough with ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and use a fork to lightly mix until the dough just comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Gather the dough into a ball. Divide the ball in half. Press into two 1-inch-thick discs and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling, or freeze for later use.
• To blind-bake (prebake) the crust:
• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 12 inches in diameter. Drape the dough over the rolling pin or fold it into quarters and transfer to a 9-inch pie plate. Press the pastry evenly into the pan, without stretching to fit. Trim the edges and crimp decoratively, as desired. Prick the crust all over with the tines of a fork. Cut parchment paper to fit the bottom and halfway up the sides of the pan. Line the pie shell with the paper. Pour in pie weights, uncooked rice, or dried beans to cover the bottom and sides of the crust. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove the paper and weights and bake the crust 5 minutes longer for a partially baked crust, or 10 minutes longer for a fully baked crust, until it looks dry and crisp.

PERFECT PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Mix the flour, sugar, and salt: Put flour, sugar, and salt into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a couple times to mix.
• Add the butter, half at a time, pulsing several times after each addition: Add about half of the butter to the food processor and pulse several times. Then add the rest of the butter and pulse 6 to 8 times until the largest pieces of butter are about the size of large peas.
• Slowly add the ice water: Sprinkle the mixture with 4 tablespoons of the ice water (make sure there are no ice cubes in the water!) and pulse again. Then add more ice water, a tablespoon at a time, pulsing once or twice after each addition until the dough just barely begins to hold together. You may not need all the water. The mixture is ready when a small handful of the crumbly dough holds together when you pinch it with your fingers.
• Make two dough discs: Carefully empty the crumbly dough mixture from the food processor on to a clean, dry, flat surface. Gather the mixture in a mound. Divide the dough mixture into two even-sized mounds. Use your hands and knead each mound just enough to form each one into a disc. Do not over-knead! Kneading develops gluten which will toughen the dough, not something you want in a pastry crust. You should just knead enough so that the dough holds together without cracks. If you started with cold butter you should be able to see small chunks of butter speckling the dough. This is a good thing. These small bits of butter will spread out into layers as the crust cooks so you have a flaky crust! Sprinkle each disc with a little flour, wrap each one in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for one hour or up to 2 days.
• Remove dough from refrigerator and let sit for a few minutes: Remove one crust disc from the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes in order to soften just enough to make rolling out a bit easier.
• Roll out dough, place in pie dish: Roll out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch circle; about 1/8 of an inch thick. As you roll out the dough, check if the dough is sticking to the surface below. If necessary, add a few sprinkles of flour under the dough to keep the dough from sticking. Carefully place onto a 9-inch pie plate. Gently press the pie dough down so that it lines the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Use a pair of kitchen scissors to trim the dough to within 1/2 inch of the edge of the pie dish.
• Add filling to the pie
• Roll out second disc, place on top of filling: Roll out second disc of dough, as before. Gently place onto the top of the filling in the pie. Trim excess dough with kitchen shears, leaving a 3/4 inch overhang. Fold the edge of the top piece of dough over and under the edge of the bottom piece of dough, pressing together. Flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with a fork. Score the top of the pie with four 2-inch long cuts, so that steam from the cooking pie can escape.
• Freeze the crust it for at least a half hour: until chilled. This is an important step in pre-baking. Otherwise the crust will slip down the sides. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
• Line pie crust with aluminum foil: When the pie crust is sufficiently chilled, line the pie crust with aluminum foil. Let the foil extend over by a few inches on two sides to make it easier to lift to remove the pie weights when the baking is done.
• Fill with pie weights: Fill the crust to the top with pie weights - dry beans, rice, or sugar. (Sugar works best.)
• Bake: Bake at 350°F for 45-50 minutes if making a crust for a pie that will require further cooking, for example a quiche. Bake for 60 to 75 minutes if making a crust for a pie that you don't need to bake further.
• Cool completely before filling: You may need to tent the edges of the pie with aluminum foil when you bake your pie, to keep the edges from getting too dried out and burnt. See more detailed instructions and photos for how to blind bake a crust here .
• Make the dough: Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor; pulse to mix. Add the butter and pulse 4 times. Add shortening in tablespoon sized chunks, and pulse 4 more times. The mixture should resemble coarse cornmeal, with butter bits no bigger than peas. Sprinkle 6 tablespoons of ice water over flour mixture. Pulse a couple times. If you pinch some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it's ready. If the dough doesn't hold together, keep adding water, a teaspoon at a time, pulsing once after each addition, until the mixture just begins to clump together.
• Form discs: Remove dough from machine and place in a mound on a clean surface. Divide the dough into 2 balls and flatten each into 4 inch wide disks. Do not over-knead the dough! Dust the discs lightly with flour, wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate for at least an hour, or up to 2 days before rolling out.
• Roll out the dough: After the dough has chilled in the refrigerator for an hour, you can take it out to roll. If it is too stiff, you may need to let it sit for 5-10 minutes at room temperature before rolling. Sprinkle a little flour on a flat, clean work surface and on top of the disc of dough you intend to roll out. (We use a Tupperware pastry sheet that has the pie circles already marked.) Using a rolling pin, apply light pressure while rolling outwards from the center of the dough. Every once in a while you may need to gently lift under the dough (a pastry scraper works great for this) to make sure it is not sticking. You have a big enough piece of dough when you place the pie tin or pie dish upside down on the dough and the dough extends by at least 2 inches all around.
• Place into pie dish: When the dough has reached the right size, gently fold it in half. Lift up the dough and place it so that the folded edge is along the center line of the pie dish. Gently unfold. Do not stretch the dough.
• If single crust pie: trim edges: If you are only making a single crust pie, use a pair of kitchen scissors to trim the dough to within 1/2 inch of the lip of the dish. Tuck the overhang underneath itself along the edge of the pie dish. Use your fingers in a pinching motion, or the tines of a fork to crimp the edge of the pie crust.
• If making double crust pie: roll the second crust: If you are making a double crust pie, roll out the second disc of dough. Gently place onto the top of the filling in the pie. Use a kitchen scissors to trim the overhang to an inch over. Fold the edge of the top piece of dough over and under the edge of the bottom piece of dough, pressing together. Finish the double crust by pressing against the edges of the pie with your finger tips or with a fork.
• Make vents in the top: Use a sharp knife to cut vents into the top of the pie crust, so the steam has a place to escape while the pie is cooking. Before scoring, you may want to paint the top of your crust with an egg wash (this will make a nice finish).
• Beat egg yolk with cream and brush on the surface of the pie with a pastry brush.

SUGAR CREAM PIE I

Steps:

• Mix cornstarch and sugar. Add 4 tablespoons butter and half and half. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and becomes thick and creamy. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
• Preheat oven broiler to high.
• Pour mixture into pie crust. Drizzle 2 tablespoons butter over top and sprinkle with cinnamon. Put under broiler until butter bubbles--watch it carefully as it doesn't take long. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

BEST EVER PIE CRUST

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water until mixture forms a ball. Divide dough in half, and shape into balls. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
• Roll out dough on a floured counter. Don't over work it. Use as directed in pie recipe.

EASY PUMPKIN PIE

Steps:

• Using kitchen shears or a paring knife, trim dough to a 1-inch overhang. With floured fingers, fold overhang under itself to form a rim; pinch between thumb and forefinger to form a uniform edge around rim of plate. Crimp with fingertips. Refrigerate pie shell until chilled, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line dough with aluminum foil, folding foil over rim of pie plate. Fill with dried beans or pie weights; bake until crust is firm, about 20 minutes. Carefully remove foil and beans. Cool crust completely before filling.
• In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, pumpkin-pie spice, and pumpkin. Whisk in half-and-half. Pour mixture into cooled pie crust. Bake until set, about 1 hour. Cool on rack at room temperature, 1 hour, then refrigerate to cool completely.
• Make whipped cream: In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer, beat cream, maple syrup, and granulated sugar until soft peaks form.