Easy As Pie

If you're here from Healthy Happier, hello and welcome! If not, you can still download the recipe for Blackberry Pocket Pies.  Just click to save or print the PDF.

{ Yum. }

As promised... homemade pie crust!  It's not nearly so hard as people would have you think.  I'm certainly not a pastry chef, so if I can do it you can do it.  I'm convinced it's one of those things that folks want to keep feeling like it belongs to the most elite of cooks.  Not so.  I say pie crust for everyone! : )

Basic Pie Crust

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup Splenda or confectioner's sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest (about one lemon worth)
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon cold butter-flavored shortening (i.e., Crisco); cut into small cubes
• Ice water (likely 1/4 cup)

Equipment

• Large mixing bowl
• Sifter
• Pastry cutter
• Liquid measuring cup
• Plastic wrap

Directions

• Fill a measuring cup with ice cubes and cold water.  Place in fridge to cool.
• Sift flour, Splenda and salt into bowl.

• Add lemon zest, but do not stir.
• Using the pastry cutter { or your hands, if you don't have one }, cut shortening into flour mixture.  The downside to using your hands is that the shortening gets warm and sticky, when you need shortening to stay cold and form crumbles, so work quickly.

• Here's where it gets a little dicey, but you can do it.  Get your ice water from the fridge and sprinkle about one tablespoon over flour mixture.  Using your fingers, gently turn the flour mixture over the water droplets to moisten it.  You're not mixing, though, just exposing the flour to the water.
• Repeat sprinkling and moistening process until you've used about a quarter cup of the water and the dough begins to come together into a ball.  It shouldn't be sticky { that means too much water, so add a bit of flour }.

{ Not quite... }

{ Bingo. }

• Carefully pat the dough into a ball, wrap securely in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  It's the perfect opportunity to make the filling of your choice.

Speaking of filling, I promised you Apple Cinnamon!  And it's even easier than the blackberry.

Apple Cinnamon Pocket Pie Filling

Ingredients

• One Granny Smith apple; cored, peeled and grated
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Splenda Brown Sugar Blend (or traditional brown sugar)
• 1 tablespoon frozen or very cold butter; grated

Equipment

• Paring knife, for peeling and slicing apple
• Box grater, for apple and butter
• Mixing Bowl
• Spoon

Directions

• Combine all ingredients and mix well.  For pies, follow from Step 5 to completion as described in Blackberry Pocket Pies.
• Great when topped with a glaze! Mix 1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon melted butter and add milk one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.  Drizzle over pies and allow to dry.