Pat-in-the-Pan Pie Crust

I love a challenge, especially when it comes to trying a new recipe or technique in the kitchen, but there are some things that I want no part of. Rolling pins, for instance. I tried to make rolled out molasses cookies one year at Christmas and got so fed up with trying to roll out the dough that the entire batch went right into the garbage. I think this rolling pin aversion might be genetic. My mother had the same attitude toward those innocent looking beasts, which is odd because her mother, grandmother and at least one aunt were known for their baking prowess - including rolled out cookies and pie crusts.

Despite this aversion to rolling pins, we ate a lot of pie in my house when I was growing up and not just on the holidays. With 100+ blueberry bushes, 50+ apple trees, and a couple of peach trees, there was always plenty of fruit on hand to use in concocting something scrumptious. (And there still is, but that's another recipe for another day.) My mother's not-so-secret secret was that she used the pre-made pie crust by Pillsbury, which  you can find in the refrigerated section of your grocery store. People raved about her pie crust and couldn't believe that 1) she would dare to "cheat" and use the pre-made stuff, and 2) the pre-made stuff could really be so GOOD.

And so, when I became interested in pie-making, it was natural that I would follow in my mother's footsteps to use the Pillsbury crusts. I learned the hard way, though, that the store brand version just isn't the same. Imagine my ... displeasure? annoyance? ... this weekend when I saw that my local grocery store was all out of the Pillsbury variety of crust, but was fully stocked on their own brand. I had peaches and blueberries that were begging to be made into a pie - but now I was faced with the pie crust dilemma. Do I drive another 20 minutes out of my way (a total of 40 minutes that I didn't have available in my schedule), or do I suck it up and try to make my own pie crust?

And then I had a light bulb moment. Somewhere in the deep, dark recesses of my mind, I recalled reading something about a "pat in pan" pie crust - no rolling pin required. When I came home, I whipped out my staple cookbooks - Better Homes & Gardens, Betty Crocker & Pillsbury. Sure enough, Betty didn't let me down. Below is the recipe I used to make my very own from-scratch pie crust.

Pat-in-the-Pan Oil Pastry
1 and 1/3 cup all-purpose or unbleached flour ... *if using self-rising flour, omit salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cold water

Mix flour, oil & salt until all the flour has been moistened (it will look crumbly). Sprinkle with the cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and stir / toss with a fork until the crust has absorbed all of the water. Form the pastry dough into a ball, then press the dough out in the bottom and up the sides of a 9" pie plate. Flute edge as desired. For a filled crust (most standard fruit pies), fill & bake as directed in the pie recipe... in other words, from this point on, use it exactly as you would the Pillsbury crust. For a baked pie crust (unfilled crust, like you would use for pudding-based pies), use a fork to prick holes in the bottom & sides of the crust, then bake for 10 to 12 minutes at 475F until light brown.

Now, the description of this recipe says that the texture of this crust won't be as flaky as the texture of a traditional pie crust, but I tend to disagree. I found the texture to be comparable, but the taste to be MUCH better than the Pillsbury stuff. An added bonus is that this crust will have a lower cholesterol level than the traditional crusts, which are made with shortening. The only downfall I saw was that I didn't really have enough crust to make a fluted, pretty edge. That's OK with me, because a lot of the time I actually do want my crust edges to look more "rustic" and homey. In the future, if I want a pretty edge, I think I might increase the recipe by half or even double it. Since the crust isn't meant to be rolled out (it's dough doesn't hold together the same way a traditional crust-dough does), I wouldn't recommend using this recipe for a double-crusted pie. I'll have to stick with Pillsbury for that.

I encourage you to try this recipe the next time you have a hankering for some pie. Not only is it truly easy-peasy, but you know all the ingredients that are going into it - it's not loaded with preservatives and who-knows-what-else like the pre-made stuff. Give it a whirl and impress your friends with your baking skills!

Next post: The pie that I made with my pat-in-the-pan pie crust.

Recipe from: "Betty Crocker's New Cookbook" 7th edition, from 1996.
Photo from: http://wardstreetbistro.typepad.com/wsb/2008/05/press-in-the-pa.html ... which incidentally offers an alternate recipe to this pie crust. I just might try this one next!