Carlas Pie Crust Recipes

CARLA'S CLASSIC PIE DOUGH

Steps:

• Dissolve the sugar and salt in 1/3 cup water and chill until cold.
• Pulse the flour and butter in a stand mixer until the mixture looks like coarse meal with some pea-size pieces. Add the water all at once and mix until the dough almost forms a ball. Divide the dough in half and flatten into two disks.
• Wrap each disk tightly in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 30 minutes or up to 3 days. You can freeze the dough for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling.

CARLA HALL'S CRANBERRY APPLE PIE

Steps:

• For flaky pie crust(if using storebought crust, skip this):.
• Combine water, salt, and sugar in measuring cup. Stir and place cup in fridge for at least 15 min (to chill water and to dissolve sugar and salt). If possible, chill mixing bowl and paddle attachment if possible.
• Combine flour and butter pieces in mixing bowl. On medium speed with mixer, cut butter into flour until butter pieces are the size of small pebbles. With the mixer running, pour the water from previous step into the butter mixture. Mix until the dough comes together.
• Separate the dough into 2 disks. Wrap each with film and chill.
• Roll chilled pastry dish out to fit a 9-inch pie dish. Prick all over dough with a fork. Bake on 375 for 10-15 minutes, or until it is lightly golden. Set aside to cool.
• For Cranberry Apple Filling:.
• In a large bowl, combine apples and cranberries (frozen and dried) Stir in salt, sugars (brown and granulated), nutmeg, and cinnamon. Stir in the zest and juice of 1 lemon. If you don't like cranberries try dried cherries or raisins instead.
• In a small bowl, combine water, cornstarch, and vanilla. Quickly stir mixture into apples. Adjust seasoning if desired.
• Fill pie dish with apple filling.
• For Crumble Topping:
• Place all the topping ingredients into food processor and process until butter has been cut into the mixture. Carla tip: if you overmix your crumble just add extra nuts or oatmeal.
• Sprinkle topping over top of pie filling. Bake at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes.
• Enjoy!

CARLA'S PIE CRUST

Steps:

• 1. PREPARE THE PIE CRUST. Combine the water, salt and sugar in a liquid measuring cup. Chill in fridge for at least 15 minutes or until salt and sugar are dissolved and water is "ice" cold. 2. In the meantime, place the flour in the bowl of a standing mixer. Toss the cold butter pieces in the flour to coat each piece. Place the bowl in the fridge, with the paddle attachment, until chilled - about 30 minutes. Chilling all the components insures that the butter will stay cold while being mixed, therefore making the crust flaky. 3. With the mixer on low, mix the flour and butter until the butter is broken down into the size of chickpeas. With the mixer still running, pour the water mixture in at once. Increase the speed to medium and continue to mix until the dough comes together. (The mixture should have visible chunks of butter.) 4. Divide the dough into 10 even parts, form into discs and wrap each separately. Let the crust rest in the fridge while preparing the filling.