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Bourbon pumpkin pie, anyone? Plus, a no-fail pie crust
Don’t let pie baking intimidate you.
“Easy as apple pie” might be a bit of a stretch, but pie doesn’t have to be as difficult as we have built it up to be in our heads.
At my family’s Thanksgiving last year, my college-aged cousin, who is just now getting into cooking and baking, decided she was going to make all the pies for our big dinner. Sure enough, she pulled off the feat with pies that tasted as good as they looked. (Everyone was so thoroughly impressed with her effort that the praise gushed even after the pies were gone probably still gives her confidence in the kitchen to this day.)
If she can make the Big Three (pumpkin, pecan and apple), so can you. In last week’s newspaper, we ran a big pie story that featured recipes for a chocolate pumpkin pie and a pumpkin pie that has 100 calories and less than 1 gram of fat per serving.
With the pie crust I made for the photo shoot, I made a pecan pie that didn’t photograph as well as the process pics — thanks to our talented photographer Deborah Cannon, who can make even my tiny, poorly-lit kitchen look nice — buy by god, it was a damn good pie that I’ll be making again tomorrow.
Some recipes, like pecan pie, don’t require you to bake the crust before filling with ingredients, while others, like pumpkin pie, need to be baked halfway first. This is called blind baking, and though it adds a step the process, it means you won’t have a raw, soggy crust.
When blind baking, you can use round inedible balls called pie weights to hold down the crust so it doesn’t puff up in the middle, but dried beans work well, too. (Just don’t forget to line the bottom of the crust with foil before placing pie weights or beans on the raw crust.)
Pie dough
This pie dough recipe, adapted from “The Pie and Pastry Bible” by Rose Levy Beranbaum, makes two crusts, which can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerated up to 2 days or frozen up to 1 month. If frozen, let the dough thaw completely in the refrigerator before rolling.
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup low-protein flour, such as Wondra
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
8 Tbsp. vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
12 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and chilled
6 to 8 Tbsp. ice water
In a food processor work bowl with the blade attached, combine flour, sugar and salt, but before processing, put the whole container in the freezer for 10 minutes to chill.
Remove food processor work bowl from freezer and place on machine. Pulse to combine flour, sugar and salt. Scatter shortening on top of the dry mixture and process about 10 seconds, or until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Scatter butter pieces on top and pulse 10 to 12 times.
Pour 6 tablespoons ice water evenly over the flour mixture and pulse 6 times. With your fingers, pinch together a small amount of the mixture. If it holds together easily, you’re ready to go on to the next step. If it’s still too dry to hold together, add 1 tablespoon water and pulse 3 times. Try pinching again. If necessary, add the remaining water and pulse three more times. (You’re not going for a bread dough consistency here. The mixture should be in particles and will not hold together unless pinched.)
Pour the mixture on a clean countertop and divide into two parts. Flatten each half into a 4-inch round disk. Cover with plastic wrap and, using a spatula, lift off the counter and turn disk over. Fold the rest of the plastic over the disk, repeat with the other half of the dough and place the dough and the rolling pin in the refrigerator for at least an hour. (In a pinch, you can place the dough and rolling pin in the freezer for 15 minutes.)
Lightly flour your countertop, remove dough from fridge and place on floured surface. Starting in the center of the disk, press rolling pin lightly and roll outward. Rotate pin a quarter turn and repeat, repeating around in a circle until you’ve rolled out the pie crust to about 11 to 12 inches in diameter. To transfer the dough to the pie plate, loosely wrap the crust around the rolling pin and then unroll over the plate.
Bourbon pumpkin pie
For many, Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie is unthinkable, but that doesn’t mean you can’t jazz up the old standby. A judicious hand with the spices lends this custardy version a certain lightness of being. There is a bit of tang, too, from sour cream, and an underlying warmth from the jigger of bourbon (to amplify the depth of flavor, add some to the whipped cream accompaniment, too). Pie can be baked 1 day ahead and chilled. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Pastry dough
1 (15-oz.) can pure pumpkin
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
3 1/2 Tbsp. bourbon
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. salt
Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 12-inch round and fit into pie plate. Trim edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Fold overhang under and lightly press against rim of pie plate, then crimp decoratively. Lightly prick bottom all over with a fork. Chill until firm, at least 30 minutes (or freeze 10 minutes).
Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle.
Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights. Bake until side is set and edge is golden, about 20 minutes. Carefully remove weights and foil and bake shell until golden all over, 10 to 15 minutes more. Cool completely.
Whisk together remaining ingredients and pour into cooled shell.
Bake until edge of filling is set but center trembles slightly, about 45 minutes (filling will continue to set as it cools). Cool completely. Top with lightly sweetened whipped cream. (You can add 1 teaspoon bourbon per 1/2 cup cream, if desired.)
— Andrea Albin for Gourmet magazine, 2009
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