Basic Pie Crust and Buttermilk Pie

*Post by Angela.

Psst! Hey, you. Come a little closer. Yes, you. I wanna tell you a secret. Guess what? I'm a terrible baker. I'm not kidding. Just horrifying. Which is why you never see me post about dessert recipes.

Okay, actually, that's not much of a secret at all. My friends have all seen the (still kind of tasty) disasters I have made in the past. As anyone who watches Top Chef knows, being a good cook/chef does NOT necessarily mean being a good baker. Baking is an exacting discipline, and requires you to follow directions and measurements to the letter. As someone who is more like a puppy or kitten ("Oooh! Shiny lights! Wait! Bouncing ball! SQUIRREL!") than a person when it comes to attention span, baking and I generally do not mix. But since the savory elements were spoken for at the Fourth of July  BBQ I attended last Sunday, I decided to buckle down and focus on making the Simply Recipes lady's Buttermilk Pie. And all props to her, this pie turned out relatively well - simple, just the right amount of sweet, and not overly heavy, which is an important consideration when it's 300 degrees outside. While this is nominally a Fourth of July pie, you could easily decorate it to suit just about any occasion.

List of ingredients for the crust (makes 2 9" crusts):

• 1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 6 tbsp ice water

First, I cubed up the butter and put it in the freezer for 10 minutes. I don't know why I was supposed to do this, but with my baking history, I wasn't about to leave any steps out.

I put the flour, salt and sugar in the food processor and pulsed a couple of times to combine.

I added the cubes of butter and pulsed again until the mixture resembled a coarse meal.  Then I added the ice water a tbsp at a time, pulsing, until it started looking like dough for reals.

At this point, I turned the dough it out onto my lightly floured counter. I separated the dough in half, then kneaded each half into a disc. I was ridiculously proud of those discs, let me tell you. I felt very accomplished, because they actually looked like they were supposed to. I wrapped them both in plastic wrap and let them hang out in fridge for about an hour.

After an hour (of doing a Jillian Michaels' workout), I removed one disc from fridge, let sit about 10 minutes to soften, then rolled it out to about 1/8" thickness.

I saved the other disc for another pie (TWO pies.  I know, weird, right?  It felt weird.).

List of ingredients for the buttermilk pie:

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Whipped cream (you can make your own, but logistically, it made more sense for me to buy a can and carry it over to the party with me)
• Handful of raspberries
• Handful of blueberries

I preheated the oven to 325 degrees and draped one of the pie crusts over a regular pie tin. I know it might look pretty sloppy to those who bake regularly, but believe me when I say this is the best any of my pie attempts have ever looked at this stage in the process.

I beat together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, flour, and melted butter (cooled). Once all that was combined, I whisked in the vanilla and buttermilk.

I poured the filling into the pie tin, then baked it for 50 minutes, just until the center was set. I may have let it cook a little too long, as the top didn't look very custardy, but the inside of the pie turned out just fine, texture-wise.

I let it cool, then covered it whipped cream and decorated it with berrries. I'm not sure if they were just being kind to my fragile baking ego, but everyone at the party seemed to like it a lot. I liked that it was sweet, but not overly sweet, and relatively light. And overall, it was pretty simple, which is absolutely key for a non-baker like me. I think that I may resort to this recipe again next time I have to make dessert...which, despite the fact that this turned out well, I hope is not too soon.

Comments

[Brian @ A Thought For Food]

I have to agree... simple recipes are key for us "non bakers". I'm still getting comfortable with making pie crusts... and this post is hugely inspirational!

[Angela]

Thanks so much, Brian! I was so, so excited about the way this turned out - I kind of wish that people could see the disasters I usually end up with...

[miguel]

That first pic is my new wallpaper.

[Angela]

:) Thanks, Miguel! Pretty, huh? Whipped cream and berries makes everything nicer.

[miguel]

definitely!

[sarah marie]

LOVE. I'm going to have to try this.

[Angela]

Sarah Marie-
I bet your version turns out even better - I've seen your baked goods, you're not messing around!