Pie Crust
When I lived in Columbia Falls, Montana, I met Shelley. She was so much fun and shared my passion for entertaining. She gave me this recipe for pie crust and it has been my ‘go to’ ever since, (over 30 years ago!) The egg and vinegar make all the difference.
INGREDIENTS
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cup shortening
- 1 egg-beaten
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
- 3 and 1/2 tablespoons COLD water
INSTRUCTIONS
- In the bowl of a food processor, mix flour and salt.
- Add shortening and pulse quickly, several 7-10 times
- Blend together egg , vinegar, and cold water and sprinkle over top of the flour/shortening mixture. Pulse rapidly until it just comes together.
- Remove from work bowl, form two disks, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour before rolling out.
My Go-To Pie Crust Recipe
When I lived in Columbia Falls, Montana, I met Shelly. She was a talented cook and shared my passion for entertaining. She shared this recipe for pie crust with me, over 30 years ago, and it has been my 'go to' ever since. The egg and vinegar make all the difference.
Equipment
- Food Processor
- Rollling Pin
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1¼ cup shortening
- 1 large egg beaten
- 2 tbsp white vinegar
- 3½ tbsp ice water
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor, mix flour and salt.Add shortening and pulse quickly several times (7-10)
- Blend together egg, vinegar, and ice water and sprinkle over top of the flour/shortening mixture. Pulse rapidly until it just comes together
- Remove from work bowl, form into two disks, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate fo at least an hour before rolling out.
Lemon Chiffon Pie
INGREDIENTS
- 1 packet powdered gelatin
- 4 jumbo eggs, whites and yolks separated, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup heavy cream, (36%)
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 -9″ baked pie crust
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place 1/4 cup water in a small bowl and sprinkle gelatin over top of the water. Set aside to allow it to bloom.
- Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, zest, and salt in a medium bowl and set over a medium pot of simmering water. (You only need a couple of inches of water in the pot. Do not allow the bottom of the bowl to touch the water.) Cook, stirring occasionally until the mixture has thickened slightly, approximately 18 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the gelatin mixture until thoroughly combined. Cool completely at room temperature, or refrigerate for 25-30 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Beat egg whites on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, 1-2 minutes. (Being careful not to break the whites)
- Fold the whites into the cooled yolk mixture using a spatula or a spoon with a whole in the middle, so as to keep as much loft in the mixture as possible
- Pour the chiffon into the baked pie shell and refrigerate for a least 4 hours, or overnight.
- Serve with slightly sweetened whipped cream with vanilla and fresh raspberries. **
Lemon Chiffon Pie
Not too tart and not too sweet. This Lemon Chiffon is fluffy, light, scrumptious and is easier than it looks to make.
Equipment
- ISI Whipped Cream Dispenser (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 packet powdered gelatin
- 4 jumbo eggs whites and yolks separated, at room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1 tbsp lemon zest finely grated
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¼ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 9" pie crust baked
Instructions
- Place ¼ cup water in a small bowl and sprinkle gelatin over top of the water. Set aside to allow it to bloom.
- Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, zest, and salt in a medium bowl and set over a medium pot of simmering water. (You only need a couple of inches of water in the pot. Do not allow the bottom of the bowl to touch the water.) Cook, stirring occasionally until the mixture has thickened slightly, approximately 18 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the gelatin mixture until thoroughly combined. Cool completely at room temperature, or refrigerate for 25-30 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Beat egg whites on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, 1-2 minutes. (Being careful not to break the whites)
- Fold the whites into the cooled yolk mixture using a spatula or a spoon with a whole in the middle, so as to keep as much loft in the mixture as possible.
- Pour the chiffon into the baked pie shell and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
- Serve with slightly sweetened whipped cream and fresh raspberries
**NOTE
I use an ISI WHIPPED CREAM DISPENSER to whip and serve the whipping cream. It really is a great tool- you minimize waste and it always makes everything you serve looks beautiful.
Classic Huckleberry Pie
I used to live in Columbia Falls, Montana--a stone's throw away from Glacier National Park --- prime huckleberry country, so huckleberries were very plentiful and easy to come by. Given that, I made a LOT of huckleberry pies. This is my tried and true, never fail recipe. It is intentionally basic to allow the scrumptiousness of the huckleberries to shine in their full glory.
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch double crust pie pastry
- 4 cups huckleberries fresh or frozen
- 1¼ cup granulated sugar or more to taste
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- dash kosher salt
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1-2 tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
- Mix sugar, flour and salt; toss with huckleberries. Add lemon juice. Let stand while preparing pastry.Spoon filling into pastry, dot with butter. Cover with top crust; slit to allow steam to escape.Bake at 425° F for 40-50 minutes. Cool and serve warm or at room temperature.
Perfect Pecan Pie
This recipe has a luscious texture, isn't too sweet and comes out perfect every time.
Ingredients
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup light corn syrup or maple syrup
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch salt
- 1 cup pecan halves
- 1 unbaked pie crust
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Combine granulated sugar and eggs in a large bowl. Whisk together until well blended.Add corn syrup, ,melted butter, vanilla and salt. Stir in pecan halves and pour int a 9" unbaked pie crust.
- Place in oven and bake 45 minutes to 1 hour. A pice of foil may be placed over the top for the last few minutes of baking to prevent the edges of the crust from becoming too brown.
