American Women's Club of Hamburg Currents Magazine November/December 2013 | Page 20

MEMBERSHIP

by Kara W.

K ara’s Favor ite Pie D ough

This is one of my favorite pie crust recipes
to use. I put the spices in the dough for fall
and winter but those can be substituted for
lemon zest and dried mint in the summer,
depending on the pie you are making. I love
having the spices in the dough for pumpkin
and apple pies; it adds an extra burst of flavor
when paired with the butter in the crust. If
you have a fondant roller at home, use that,
it usually gets you thinner dough! I prepare
my pie dough twenty-four hours in advance
and keep it in the fridge to make sure it is set
enough before rolling out.

2.5 cups (around 313 grams) all-purpose dough plus
more for dusting and rolling
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground nutmeg (Muskatnuss)
¼ tsp. ground cloves (Nelken gemahlen)
1/8 tsp. ground All-spice (Piment gemahlen)
1/8 tsp. ground ginger (Ingwer gemahlen)
1/8 tsp. ground cardamom (Kardamom gemahlen)
1 cup (one block of 250 grams) butter, unsalted, cold,
cut into cubes
½ cup very cold water (or ice water if you have ice on
hand)

1. Combine the flour, salt, sugar, and spices in a bowl and whisk together to blend.
2. Using your preferred method, cut the butter into your dry ingredients; this can be done with clean fingers, a food
processor, pastry cutter, or fork. The final outcome should be pieces of butter that are no bigger than the size of peas, with
your ingredients resembling sand.
3. Stir in the cold water slowly and mix with a fork until the ingredients are wet. Using clean hands that have been dusted
with flour, gently mix the ingredients with your fingers until it resembles dough. Do not overwork or over-mix. You should
be able to see some marbling in the dough from the butter.
4. Form the dough into a disc, wrap firmly with plastic wrap, and set in the fridge to set. It says to chill at least one hour
but I usually do several hours to overnight, depending on how cold your fridge is and how warm your kitchen is. The last
thing you want is for the butter in the dough to soften quickly, it will cause your dough to literally melt down into your pie
plate once in the oven.
5. When ready, take your chilled dough out of the fridge and let sit on a counter for a few minutes to s