I never used to celebrate Pi day. Why? Because I couldn’t make a pie crust. Sad, huh? When I was forced to for holidays I used pie crusts I purchased in the freezer section and they tasted a bit like cardboard.
Then my husband bought me Cooking From Quilt Country by Marcia Adams and one of her recipes changed my pie baking forever.
Pat-In-Pan Pie Crust!
- It turns out perfect every time.
- And is so flaky it melts in your mouth.
- There is no rolling out and dough to get tough.
- The dough doesn’t break apart when you lift it to put in the pan.
Why?
- Because you put all the dry ingredients into to pie pan.
- Pour the liquids over it.
- Mix it with your hands
- And pat it out to fill the pan.
This works for us because:
- Most of the pies we like are one crust pies
- If there is a top required we usually use a streusel topping
The recipe is very simple.
Pat-In-The Pan Pie Crust from Cooking From Quilt Country by Marcia Adams
- 1½ cups of flour + 3 Tablespoons
- 1½ teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 3 Tablespoons cold milk
- Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the pie pan and mix with fingertips until evenly blended.
- In a measuring cup combine the oil and milk and beat until creamy.
- Pour all at once over the flour mixture. Mix with a fork until the flour mixture is completely moistened.
- Pat the dough with your fingers, first at the sides of the plate and then across the bottom.
- Flute the edges.
- Shell is now ready to be filled.
- If you are preparing a shell to fill later or your recipe requires a prebaked crust, preheat oven to 425.
- Prick the surface of the pastry with a fork and bake 15 minutes.
- Check often and prick more if needed.
We often mix up the dry ingredients and store them in zipper bags so it takes less time if we want to make a quiche or pie unexpectedly. I’ve come a long way since those store bought crusts.
I guess this could be part of my Homemaking tips from older women.
Here is the pie we’ll be making for Pi Day. It’s Dan and Eric’s favorite. I think one of my daughters may make another one that she and her sister will enjoy more. But…it’s Pi Day. Why not make more than one?
Ingredients
- 9-inch unbaked pie crust
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 3 eggs, slightly beaten
- 1/3 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 heaping cup pecan halves
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, combine corn syrup, sugar, eggs, butter, salt and vanilla; mix well. Pour into unbaked pie crust; sprinkle with pecan halves.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes or until center is set. (Toothpick inserted in center will come out clean when pie is done.) Cool. If crust or pie appears to be getting too brown, cover with foil for the remaining baking time.
- Tip: The original recipe stated that the pie should be baked 45 to 50 minutes in a preheated 350-degree gas oven. If an electric oven is used, it may be necessary to add 15 to 20 minutes to the baking time. (Begin testing the pie with a toothpick after 45 minutes.)
What pie did you make. Post a photo or just the kind in the comments. Perhaps we could share recipes too.
Happy Pi Day!
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3 Comments
Susie
That looks great! Thank you for posting.
Phyllis Sather
We made a Pecan pie and a Peanut Butter pie. Both were delicious. Wanna come over for a piece?
Gentle Joy Photography
What a great pie crust idea… sounds easier and yet still the flaky light crust. 🙂 Thank you for sharing this.