Pie Crust

Allow me to get on a soapbox for a paragraph or two but not with a very large microphone because I'm not one to blatantly shout about my opinions. I do, however, think it's worth a quick mention - I threw away our Crisco when we moved. I am turning over a new leaf and am vowing to keep trans fats out of our pantry and blood vessels. Trans fat is an artificial substance that comes from hydrogen being inserted into oils to prevent them from going rancid thus giving them a longer shelf life. This hydrogenated oil or trans fats aren't tolerated by our bodies very well. This is the reason why I threw away the Crisco.

I'll admit one of the reasons I'm including this information today is because of my own ignorance. I thought since we did a lot of home cooking we wouldn't consume a lot of trans fats. I don't buy junky potato chips or lots of processed snacks but trans fats hide in lots of places. And something else tricky? An item can have "0 g trans fat" listed on their Nutrition Facts label but still contain trans fat. If an item contains less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving then the FDA lets a food company claim 0 g trans fat. So then I educated myself a bit more ... I now take a few seconds to read through the ingredient list. Anything with some form of "partially hydrogenated oils" listed has trans fats. Just the other day I went to buy canned biscuits and had to eliminate some for having hydrogenated ingredients! My ignorance stemmed from the fact that trans fats are hydrogenated oils.

Before I move on I'll share two reputable articles if you'd like to do some further reading - one from the Mayo Clinic "Trans fat is double trouble for your heart health" and one from the American Heart Association "Trans fat".

Off soapbox!

Today I'm sharing a pie crust made from real butter! Butter, flour, and water with a dash of sugar and salt are the only ingredients. I'm not the pickiest of pie crust connoisseurs so this crust may not live up to its flake-y Crisco predecessor but it's got me fooled.

Martha Stewart's Favorite Pie Crust ... is mine too

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for rolling dough

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

2 tablespoons ice water, plus 2 more, if needed* I usually need a bit more

Directions

   In a food processor, pulse flour, salt, and sugar several times to combine. Add butter. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with just a few pea-size pieces remaining.

   Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed with fingers (if needed, add up to 2 tablespoons more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time). Do not overprocess.

   Turn dough out onto a work surface; form dough into a 3/4-inch-thick disk. Wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.

   Before baking, unwrap dough; place on a large piece of floured waxed paper. Roll dough to a 14-inch round. Using paper, lift and wrap dough around rolling pin (discarding paper); carefully unroll over a 9-inch pie plate. Gently fit into bottom and up sides of plate.

   Trim overhang to 1 inch; fold overhang under itself. Pinch between thumb and forefinger to make a uniform edge around the rim. Crimp edge; refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.

Then I usually blind bake the crust in a 350F with pie beans until slightly golden, 20-30 minutes.

For our first experiment with the all-butter crust we made a quiche! The quiche was filled with sautéed leeks, sun-dried tomatoes, and goat cheese. We've made a few other quiches since then as well as two tomato pies over the summer and a pumpkin pie last week for Halloween. We love this recipe!

Always be sure to include your trans fat free pie (whether savory or sweet) with a side of fruit. Since, ya know, we're being healthy and stuff!

We said no to trans fats - can you?