Let’s admit it, a pie is only as good as the crust. And I have a terrible sweet tooth. So I added in a bit of powdered sugar to my favorite pie crust recipe and: voila! Sweet Pie Crust. You can add or subtract the powdered sugar to suit your tastes (I wouldn’t add more than 1-2 tablespoons of powdered sugar; more than that you could wind up with a dry crust), or omit it entirely for a savory crust recipe.
Sweet Pie Crust
Ingredients
- 2 cups All-purpose Flour Sifted
- 1 Tablespoon Powdered Sugar Optional
- 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter Chilled
- 2 Egg Yolks Large
- 1/4 cup Cold Water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 Degrees F
- Combine the all-purpose flour, powdered sugar, and salt in a bowl; add the butter cubes. Lightly rub the ingredients together with your fingers until the mixture is the texture of breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and mix with your hands. Slowly add the cold water; mix until you form a paste that leaves the sides of the bowl clean.
- On a lightly floured surface, shape the pastry into a ball. Don’t overwork or handle the dough too much or it can become tough. Flatten the pastry into a disc and cover with plastic wrap. Chill for at least 30 minutes but no more than 3 hours before using.
- Roll out the chilled dough into a circle ½ to 1 inch wider than the pie pan (avoid using a glass pie pan as the crust is more likely to shrink). Place your dough into the pan; use your fingers or a small pastry roller to smooth the crust up the sides of pan
- Fold under any excess edges of dough; crimp the edge of the crust with your fingers or a fork. Pierce the bottom of the crust several times with a fork to allow steam to escape and prevent the bottom from bubbling up during baking.
- Line the dough with a large piece of parchment paper. Fill the pie pan to the top with pie weights or dried beans. This is critical to prevent the crust from shrinking in the oven.
- For a par-baked crust: Bake for 15 to 20 minutes; remove the parchment paper and weights and bake an additional 5 to 10 minutes. The crust should be light brown and just starting to set but not fully baked.
- For a blind-baked crust: Bake for 20 minutes; remove the parchment paper and weights and bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Make sure the bottom is set; it should be golden brown.
- Cool the crust completely before adding the filling.