No Stress All Butter Pastry Crust Recipes

BUTTERCRUST PASTRY DOUGH

Steps:

• Place blade insert into bowl of food processor. Add 1 cup flour. Sprinkle frozen butter cubes over flour. Add remaining 1 cup flour, sugar, and salt. Cover. Pulse in short bursts on and off until butter is broken into small pieces and looks crumbly, about 1 minute. Drizzle in ice water. Pulse with longer pulses, on and off, until mixture turns pale yellow and looks like crumbs, about 10 to 12 seconds. Scrape down sides with spatula. Pulse once or twice more.
• Transfer mixture onto a work surface. Bring pieces together to form a tight round ball of dough. Flatten slightly and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight before rolling out.

BUTTERNUT PUMPKIN PIE

Steps:

• Prepare the squash purée:
• Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat to 400°F. Split the squash lengthways, scoop out the seeds, and place cut side down on a foil-lined aluminum baking sheet. Roast until fork-tender, about 45 minutes.
• When the squash is cool enough to handle, use a large spoon to scrape out the pulp. Pulse in a food processor until smooth, or rub through a double-mesh sieve. Measure out 14 ounces (1 3/4 cups) squash purée. Use warm, or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
• Make the pie:
• Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat to 375°F. In a medium bowl, whisk the squash purée, Quick Condensed Milk, brown sugar, vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, cloves, butter, and eggs until smooth. Pour into the baked crust, place on an aluminum baking sheet, and bake until the custard has puffed into a gentle dome, about 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F and continue baking until the custard is firm around the edges but still wobbly in the very center, about 25 minutes more (200°F; 210°F if the probe touches the crust). Let cool at room temperature until the custard is set, about 2 hours.
• Cut the pie with a chef's knife. If you like, serve with dollops of whipped cream and a sprinkling of crushed toffee. Wrapped in plastic, leftovers will keep for up to 4 days at room temperature.
• Make Ahead
• From the No-Stress All-Butter Pastry Crust, which can be rolled, shaped, and frozen months in advance, to the Quick Condensed Milk and squash purée, every element of this recipe can be made well ahead, so don't feel as if you need to tackle it all at once.
• Leftover squash purée can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.

NO-STRESS ALL-BUTTER PASTRY CRUST

Steps:

• Making the dough:
• Sift flour into a medium bowl (if using cup measures, spoon into the cups and level with a knife before sifting). Whisk in sugar and salt. Cut butter into 1/2-inch cubes, no smaller, and toss with flour to break up the pieces. Roughly smash each cube flat-nothing more! Stir in cold water and knead until the dough comes together in a ball. With a dough temperature at or below 70°F, it will feel dry to the touch.
• Transfer to a generously floured work space, sprinkle with more flour, and roll into a 10-by-15-inch sheet. Fold each 10-inch side toward the middle, and close the packet like a book. Fold top to bottom to make a thick block, then cut in half. Using as much flour as needed, roll one portion into a 14-inch round. Brush off excess flour, drape over a 9-inch tempered glass pie plate, making sure it's flush against the pan.
• Trim excess dough into a 1 1/4-inch overhang all around, then fold over to create a 3/4-inch border that sits on the rim of the plate; if positioned inside the rim, the crust will be too shallow to accommodate the filling. Pinch or press the border into a zigzag pattern, and repeat with remaining dough. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours, or overnight. Alternately, formed crusts can be frozen up to 3 months and thawed in a refrigerator before use.
• Baking the crust:
• Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat to 350°F. Line the chilled crust with a large strip of foil (not parchment or wax paper), letting the excess loosely cover the rim. Fill with plain white sugar, a delicious alternative to options like rice or beans.
• Bake on an aluminum baking sheet until fully set and golden brown, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and carefully lift out the foil, setting it aside until the sugar has cooled. If the sides of the crust seem puffy or pale, continue baking 10 minutes more. Cool to room temperature. Use immediately, or wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for up to 24 hours.
• Key Point
• If the temperature climbs above 73°F in your kitchen, be aware that everything from your countertop to your rolling pin and the flour itself will act as a heat source to the butter. Combat these conditions by refrigerating your pie plate, rolling pin, and dry ingredients until cool-not cold or frozen. If needed, chill the countertops of a sweltering hot kitchen with bags of ice water.
• Mix It Up:
• Gluten-Free: Replace the all-purpose flour with 4 ounces (3/4 cup) white rice flour, 2 1/2 ounces (1/2 cup) cornstarch, 1 1/2 ounces (1/3 cup) tapioca flour, 1 ounce (1/4 cup) coconut flour, and 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum. Prepare the dough as directed, using a generous amount of cornstarch for dusting. The dough will crack along the creases as it's folded, but that's all right. After portioning the dough, roll to just 12 inches. Cut into quarters and transfer to the pie plate one at a time, pressing the pieces together and then sculpting the border like clay. Chill and bake as directed.