Pie Dough for custard pies - alisas recipe for banana cream pie

Pie Dough for Custard Pies

The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

makes enough for one 9-inch pie

prep time: 1 hour 25 minutes

total time:  2 hours 30 minutes (includes 1 hour 30 minutes chilling time)

Custard filling can make even fully baked pie crusts soggy.  To help prevent this, we like to roll our standard pie dough in graham cracker crumbs, which add crispiness and great flavor to this crust.  If grinding your own graham cracker crumbs in the food processor, you will need about 3 crackers.

 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling out the dough

1 tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons vegetable shortening, cut into ½ –inch pieces and chilled

4 tablespoons ( ½ stick) unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch pieces and chilled

4 to 6 tablespoons ice water

½ cup graham cracker crumbs

1.     Process the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor until combined.  Scatter the shortening over the top and continue to process until the mixture has texture of coarse sand, about 10 seconds.  Scatter the butter pieces over the top and, using short pulses, process the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 pulses.  Transfer to a bowl.

2.     Sprinkle 4 tablespoons of the ice water over the mixture.  Stir and press the dough together, using a stiff rubber spatula, until the dough sticks together.  If the dough does not come together, stir in the remaining water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it does.  Form the dough into a 4-inch disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

3.     Let the chilled dough soften slightly at room temperature.

4.     Lightly dust a counter with the graham cracker crumbs and roll the dough into a 12-inch circle.  Continue sprinkling the dough with the crumbs, both underneath and on top, as it is being rolled out.  Fit the dough into the pie plate.  Trim, foil, and crimp the edges and freeze the unbaked pie crust until firm, about 30 minutes, before baking.

5.     Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees.  Line the chilled crust with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights.  Bake until the pie dough looks dry and is light in color, 25 to 30 minutes.  Remove the pie weights and foil and continue to bake until the crust is a deep golden brown, about 12 minutes longer.  The pie crust may be cooled completely or used warm, according to the particular pie recipe.

to make ahead

The dough can be refrigerated, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 2 month.  Let the frozen dough thaw on the countertop until malleable before rolling.  A fully baked pie crust can be stored at room temperature, wrapped tightly in foil, for up to 2 days.