Homestead Baking: Easy Pie Crust

It's no secret that I love to show others that I love them by feeding them and making them delicious food (check out this post about the love language of food), and with Thanksgiving soon approaching, a pie just seemed fitting to give as a display of that love.  There's something about pies that just have an old-timey feel.  They're a traditional dessert that has been placed on the table by women for hundreds of years, and I like to join in the tradition and place one on my own family's table as well.  I don't have that many memories of my Great-Grandma Mabie before she was in the nursing home, but of the ones that I do, I can remember her standing at my grandma's kitchen stove on Thanksgiving, stirring the gravy and then later serving her delicious pies.  She was a wonderful baker, and it seemed that she too showed people she loved them by making a meal with her hands and serving her family.

Pie crust can be intimidating, but it doesn't have to be!  Just keep practicing and eventually you'll find how to recognize by touch when it's the right consistency.  This recipe is a good place to start!

Pie Crust (Makes one single pie crust)

Ingredients:

• 1 T. sugar
• 3 T. cold butter, cut into small cubes
• 1/3 c. coconut oil (solid consistency)
• 6 T. cold water
• 2 1/2 to 3 cups of flour

Start by adding the flour and sugar to the bowl and mixing that together.  Next, add in the butter and coconut oil, incorporating the two with your fingers until you have coarse crumbs.  Add in the cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time until the is soft enough to form and shape into a all, yet not too sticky where it sticks to your fingers.

Roll out the dough onto a floured surface until it is large enough to fit in your pie pan.  To transfer the crust from the floured surface to the greased pie pan, I like to fold it gently, starting with the top, then working my way around folding clockwise.  I then place the crust into the pan and unfold it.  Next, roll the crust down and then flute it to make it pretty.  Poke the crust several times with a fork before pouring the pie filling inside.

​This recipe is pretty versatile and can provide a pillow to many different varieties of pies!  I've used it for strawberry-rhubarb, apple, and pumpkin.  To make a double crust, simply double the recipe!

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