Mary's NO FAIL Pie Crust ....

This is a recipe I got from my sister.  Her mother in-law is a great cook/baker and has a lot of recipes that have been in her family for decades and this is one of them.  This is literally a NO FAIL pie crust recipe.  I had tried many recipes before and my pie crust never turned out well until I tried this amazing recipe! It's simple, easy and always turns out well!  I think what makes the dough so manageable is the apple cider vinegar, try it for yourself and tell me what you think! 

**You can use this recipe for any kind of pie, I was making pumpkin pie so that's why my crust looks the way it does in the picture below.

Perfect Pie Crust ;)

 INGREDIENTS: (Makes 2 pie crusts)

3 cups of flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup shortening
1 well beaten egg (I like to use the butter flavored kind)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
5-6 tbsp COLD water

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, beat the egg and shortening together
2. Add the flour, salt and apple cider vinegar
3. Next add water, 1 tbsp at a time until the dough forms into a ball.

NOTE: You can use a mixer to mix all the ingredients, using a dough hook or just some regular beaters.

PICS OF PROCESS:

The recipe is for two pie crusts, after making the dough I split it in half.  I wrap the half I am not rolling out in plastic so it doesn't dry out while I roll out the first crust.



The dough always sticks to my rolling pin so I like to use parchment paper to aid in the rolling out process.  It allows me to roll out the dough as thin as I like without it sticking to my rolling pin.



I place parchment paper on one half of the rolled out dough and fold it in half in order to make it easy to place onto my pin dish.

It's important to make sure there are not air pockets between the dough and the pie dish.   Cut-off the excess edges and decorate to your liking, I also like to prick the dough with a fork before I add the filling so it cooks evenly and doesn't bubble.

Baking a Pumpkin!! (Making Pumpkin Puree)

I was always afraid to bake my own pumpkin and I would usually always use Libby's Pumpkin from a CAN to make all of my pumpkin recipes like pumpkin pie, yum! But my massage therapist totally convinced me to make my own, she made it sound super easy so I decided to give it a go and it turned out perfect! It was so amazing and delicious, I can't wait for you guys to try it!



PUMPKIN PUREE!!!!

INGREDIENTS:
1 small cooking pumpkin (There are TWO different types of pumpkins the ones for jack-o-lanterns, which are BIG and not as sweet and small ones used for cooking that are sweet and tasty)

4 cups water

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 deg C
2. Wash the pumpkin in luke warm water
3. Cut the stem off the pumpkin
4. Cut the pumpkin in half
5. Place the pumpkin face down on a cookie sheet (yes, seeds and all)
6. Place the cookie sheet in the oven and pour the water on the cookie sheet, my cookie sheet was large enough to hold the 4 cups, if you are using a smaller cookie sheet just make sure the water covers about an 5-10 cm of the pumpkin this will prevent the pumpkin from drying out.
7. Bake in the oven for 60-70 minutes or until it is soft enough for you to poke a fork into the pumpkin. **NOTE: The time may varying depending on the size of your pumpkin so just keep an eye on it.
8. Let cool for 5-10 mins.  The pumpkin will be very soft and tender, so I would recommend lifting it off the cookie sheet with a spatula to a plate or cutting board.
9. Scoop out all the seeds and fibrous material from each pumpkin half and throw away or place it in your compost :)
10. Scoop the flesh out of each pumpkin half.
11. You can now puree the pumpkin flesh in the food processor or if it is soft enough you can just mix it with a spoon and use it as is. 

PICS OF THE PROCESS:

Chop, chop, chop!



Adding the water, this was probably the trickiest part!

 

After an hour of baking.... notice the fork pricks!



Scooping out the seeds! It was so soft, the skin was pretty much just peeling off it!

Pumpkin Puree! Blend in the food processor or use as is!


Making my own puree was really fun! Even though it was so simple to do I felt so accomplished doing it, it's nice to be able to stay away from the canned stuff and make my own puree.  Don't get me wrong, the canned puree is SUPER convenient and I will probably keep using it from time to time but the taste of freshly made puree is so much more delicious it's definitely worth making it from time to time.