Making the perfect pie crust can feel like a daunting task, but with The Pioneer Woman‘s recipe, you can achieve flaky, tender results every time. Ree Drummond, known for her approachable and delicious home cooking, shares her secret to pie crust success using a combination of butter and shortening. This recipe, featured in her cookbook The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays, is a game-changer for both beginner and experienced bakers.
What makes this pie crust stand out? It’s all about the texture. The blend of butter and shortening creates a crust that is incredibly flaky while remaining wonderfully tender. Butter contributes rich flavor and flakiness, while shortening adds tenderness and helps prevent excessive gluten development, ensuring a melt-in-your-mouth texture. This combination is the key to a truly perfect pie crust that will impress your family and friends.
Step by Step Instructions The Pioneer Woman Cooks new Cookbook
The recipe itself is straightforward and easy to follow, even if you’ve struggled with pie crusts in the past. The use of cold ingredients is crucial – cold butter, cold shortening, and ice water all contribute to preventing gluten formation and maintaining the desired flakiness. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers to incorporate the fats into the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs is another important technique for achieving the right texture.
Whether you’re making a classic apple pie, a savory quiche, or a festive holiday pie, this Pioneer Woman pie crust will provide the perfect foundation. Imagine the delight of serving a homemade pie with a crust that is both beautiful and delicious, thanks to this reliable and foolproof recipe.
This recipe is not just about ingredients and instructions; it’s about bringing the joy of home baking into your kitchen. Ree Drummond’s recipes are known for their comforting and family-friendly nature, and this pie crust is no exception. It’s a recipe that you’ll turn to again and again, building your confidence in pie making and allowing you to create memorable desserts for any occasion.
The Pioneer Woman Perfect Pie Crust Recipe
From The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays cookbook, this recipe delivers a truly perfect pie crust every time.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 2 pie crusts
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces
- 3/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tablespoon distilled white vinegar
- 5 Tablespoons ice water, plus more if needed
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour and salt.
- Add the cold vegetable shortening and cold butter pieces to the flour mixture.
- Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, work the fats into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. It’s important to keep the fats cold during this process.
- In a separate small bowl, lightly beat the egg with a fork. Add the distilled white vinegar to the egg and whisk to combine.
- Pour the egg mixture over the flour mixture.
- Add the ice water to the bowl.
- Stir everything together until the dough just comes together. If the dough seems too dry, add an additional tablespoon or two of ice water, one tablespoon at a time, until it forms a cohesive dough. Be careful not to overmix.
- Divide the dough in half and form each half into a ball.
- Wrap each ball of dough tightly in plastic wrap and flatten slightly into discs.
- Place the wrapped dough in the freezer and chill for at least 30 minutes before rolling out. This chilling time is crucial for relaxing the gluten and making the dough easier to work with.
- Remove from freezer 30 minutes before rolling out.
Enjoy creating delicious pies with this foolproof Pioneer Woman pie crust recipe!
