The All Butter Pie Crust

Tonight I made the Erin McDowell’s all butter pie crust.

The Video:

This blog post has my thoughts on her video and a link to the video. It’s over an hour but so worth watching.

The Book:

Her book, The Book on Pie, is beyond amazing. I have carried it around with me ever since it arrived, hoping to have a few spare minutes to sit down and read more of it.

There are three new pie books that have been published in the past six weeks. I haven’t seen the other two but this book is just amazing, in my opinion.

I was reading the Amazon reviews and someone left just a few stars, saying the pies were different – not classic recipes. Honestly, there are classic pie recipes everywhere – cookbooks, magazines, blogs, internet. If I can make a perfect crust, then I can take it from there. This book definitely includes recipes and tips for perfect crusts. But there are so many pies in the book that I would love to make. I can’t imagine being a pie baker and not wanting to try at least something out of the ordinary every now and then. The classic pies will probably always be my favorites but you never know til you try something different.

My Crust Results:

I made Erin’s All Buttah Pie Dough recipe. This is the same recipe that’s in the book but there’s way more info in the book. I was nervous about leaving the butter the size of a walnut half. I stuck a walnut half in front of me so I could use it for comparison. Since, from Day 1 of my pie making experience, I was told to work the dough til the pieces are the size of a pea, it was hard leaving pieces the size of a walnut half and I was apprehensive about it. That’s why I made a pie tonight – to see how it works before making my Thanksgiving pies.

It really took me about 5 minutes from the time I started cutting the butter, til I had the dough ready to wrap and place in the fridge. That’s so much quicker and so much easier than using a pastry dough cutter. Because it takes so little time to get the dough to this point, it’s a bit risky using a food processor. All you would do is pulse it a few times and, for me, it’s not worth the trouble of having to clean the food processor when it’s this easy.

The dough was a dream to roll out. First try! No tearing, no cracking – just a perfect, uniform dough with about four or five rolls of the rolling pin.

I love how Erin shows to wrap the dough around the rolling pin, then unwrap over the pie plate. So simple! Why did I not know that? I always fold it in half or quarters and open it up in the pie pan and that’s an opportunity for a crack.

It was seriously just a dream to make this pie crust. Mine isn’t as professional as Erin’s but this was my first time using some of the things I learned watching her videos and reading her book.

My Poor Family:

I bought pie weights but didn’t have enough so I added two pounds of black beans. Vince was sitting in the dining room and I took it in there and said “Look. I made a black bean pie!” He’s never quite sure whether I’m joking and he doesn’t want to hurt my feelings. He said “What’s in it besides black beans?” . . trying to sound optimistic and enthusiastic. I told him . . just black beans but then I started laughing.

Later, Addie was wanting pie. I asked her to check to to see if it was still hot, warm or cool. She said the bottom was hot. Then she said “Are those little white balls mixed with the beans ready to eat?” WHAT? She said “Can I have one of those white balls you baked?” I had to stop laughing and explain to her what those were . . I don’t think she believed me and I’m betting before the night is over, she tries to bite into one of them.

The Pie:

This is a buttermilk pie. I wanted to try the crust recipe before using it on the Thanksgiving pies so this was a test. This recipe is always just a little too much for a regular pie pan and not quite enough for a deep dish pan but because I didn’t want to have it slosh out in the floor or in the oven, I used a deep dish pie pan.

The Taste Test:

I usually like my buttermilk pie cold but we couldn’t wait so as soon as it was cool enough to cut, we did. I wasn’t sure if Addie was going to like it and I knew as soon as she heard “buttermilk”, that would be the end of it for her. I cut her a small slice and told her if she liked it, she could have more. She gobbled that down and asked for a BIG slice. I said “Did you like it?” She said “NO! I LOVE it!” She wanted a third slice and I told her no. She said “Then, just once, can I like my plate!” I said ok! Bad Granny!

I was trying to get a picture of the flakiness so I hope you can see it. That is the flakiest pie crust I have ever made and it was just perfect, if I do say so myself.

Vince had two slices and said it was the best buttermilk pie he’s ever had. I told him . . that’s the pie I make the most often. You’ve had a lot of buttermilk pie! He still said this one was the best.

With Vince and Addie each having two slices, we ate half the pie! I’m betting there’s a request for another buttermilk pie before this week is over.