The Perfect Pie Crust and a Giveaway

There's a National Pie Day (January 23rd). And there's a Pi Day (March 14th. 3-14, get it?) But there's no Pie Week. Olivia Munn has started a petition for a National Pie Week. Britain has a Pie Week. Why don't we? So I'm taking things into my own hands, and declaring it Pie Week around here. I'm posting a pie recipe every day this week. Will your favorite make an appearance? Check back to find out.

Great pie starts with a great crust. For me, this includes using a combination butter and lard. Yes, lard. It helps make the crust flaky. I've tried using vegetable shortening, but it leaves a weird texture in my mouth. The only way I can describe it is "mouth-feel." So lard it is. I guess it's a good thing I don't make a pie every week.


Kelly Jaggers' The Everything Pie Cookbook has great tips for making pie crust. A lot of them I already knew. Give the dough a quarter turn after rolling it once to keep it from sticking. Don't overwork the dough when mixing. Use ice cold water. After reading her book, I actually put those tips to work. Guess what, I consistently made fantastic pie crusts! Imagine that. This recipe was my favorite from the book.


The Perfect Pie Crust
adapted from “Food Processor Pie Crust”
by Kelly Jaggers


Makes a single crust. For a double crust, double the ingredients. Divide dough in half, flatten each half into a disk, and separately wrap and chill the disks.

1 ¼ c all purpose flour
1 Tbs sugar
½ tsp salt
4 Tbs unsalted butter, chilled and cut into chunks
3 Tbs lard (or vegetable shortening), chilled and cut into chunks
3-4 Tbs ice cold water


Add flour, sugar, and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine. Add butter and shortening and pulse until the dough separates into large pebbles, about 5 pulses.

Add 2 Tbs of water and pulse. Add more water, a tablespoon at a time, if needed. Dough should start to clump together into one mass, but should not feel wet or sticky.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and form into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Take dough out of refrigerator and let sit on the counter for 10 minutes. Unwrap, and roll dough out on a lightly floured surface, forming a 12-inch circle. Periodically turn the dough 90 degrees (a quarter turn) to keep the dough from sticking. Dust the surface with a little more flour if necessary.

Carefully transfer dough to a 9-inch pie plate. Press gently into the plate and trim to 1-inch of the edge of the pan. Crimp edge with a fork or your fingers.


Now for the giveaway - my very first. I'm a little nervous. I'm giving away some pie making goodies - a copy of Everything Pie by Kelly Jaggers, a pie crust shield, and a rolling mat. The book has tons of fabulous looking recipes. The crust shield keeps the edges from turning too brown. And the rolling mat has handy outlines so you know exactly how big the dough is as you roll it out.

Here are the rules:

1. Open to U.S. residents only.

2. To enter, leave a comment telling me your favorite pie flavor. Is it a fruit pie? A custard pie? A savory pie? Duplicate comments will be invalid. Please include your email address if it is not part of your profile.

3. For an additional entry, "Like" Kokocooks on Facebook. Leave a comment telling me your first name and the first initial of your last name.

4. Giveaway closes on Saturday September 17, 2011 at 8:00 p.m Eastern Time. One winner will be chosen at random, and notified via email. Winner has 72 hours to respond.

Good luck!