My pictures don't make this look near as tasty as it actually is!
My Grandma Pauline's pie crust is the best I have ever tasted. The convenience of store bought crust just isn't worth missing out on the flavor and flakiness.
The ingredients for the crust are;
2/3 c. water
2/3 c. flour
another 4 c. flour
2 t. salt
2 c. butter flavored Crisco
Now this will make about 5 single pie crusts so its perfectly understandable if you wanna cut this recipe in half. I usually do. But if you are like my Grandma and bake a BUNCH of pies then go right ahead! What ever you don't use will freeze well for later use.
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| the paste |
First off you want to mix together the 2/3 c. each of flour and water. Grandma called this "the paste". Go ahead and set this to the side.
Next in a large bowl mix the salt into the 4 c. of flour. Use what ever tools you like (fork, two knives or a pastry blender) and cut in your Crisco until it resembles crumbs.
Now comes my favorite part! Pour the paste into the crumbs and mix away with your hands. :) My Grandma always let me do this part.
The dough will start to pull away from the bowl and off of your hands. It's kinda like play-doh. Grandma would always give my brother and I some dough to play with.
The smell of this pie dough smells so much like Grandma's kitchen. I got a little sentimental at this point. My Grandma Pauline passed away this past February. Whenever I am baking she pops into my head. That woman was always baking something and was so patient with me "helping" in the kitchen as a kid. She taught me so much!
Ethan is helping me roll out the dough. I like to use waxed paper to do this. You can roll out in flour if you'd like. Both methods have their own benefits. I feel with the paper the crust comes out a little flakier.
If you are going to use this dough for a cream pie then I suggest rolling out in flour. The extra flour makes this dough a little more stiff and will hold up better in your pie plate without slipping down while baking. Yup, it's happened to me!
Ethan is now demonstrating how to place the pie dough into your pie plate with the waxed paper. He is an awesome helper!
Then just peel off the paper and ta-dah!
Cut off the excess dough with a knife and crimp your edges.
Now for the AMAZINGLY delicious filling! Courtesy of Gooseberry Patch's Sweet & Simple
Did I ever mention I LOVE me some Gooseberry Patch? If you look up above at the photos of Ethan you will see in the background my collection of Gooseberry Patch cookbooks.
Ingredients;
1/2 c. butter, melted
3 T. baking cocoa
1/4 c. flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. sugar
1 t. vanilla
1 c. chopped pecans (had to leave out for picky husband)
I feel that this recipe needs to be doubled. I like my pie crust to be good and filled! My hubby likes 'em that way too!
(This is his all time favorite pie! I think he is going to get one for Father's day.)
After melting your butter, mix in the cocoa. Add the next 5 ingredients and mix well. There really isn't much work in this recipe!
You have probably noticed my eggs weren't beaten before I added them. I just hate to dirty up another dish. So they went in straight from the shell!
Now pour your batter into your crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minute. (Since I doubled my ingredients I baked for another 10-15 minutes.) Let cool and enjoy! ( We like ours still a little warm from the oven)
