No-Fear Pie Crust

[Antilope]

No-Fear Pie Crust

This pie dough can be pressed into a greased pie plate and placed in the fridge up to 2-days. It can also be wrapped in two layers of plastic wrap and stored in freezer up to 1 month. Once baked, the pie shell can be stored at room temperature for up to 1-day, if tightly wrapped with plastic wrap.

Makes a single layer 9-inch Pie Shell.

Ingredients
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon table salt
8 Tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick - 1/4 lb), softened, but still cool
2 ounces (3-1/2 Tbs) cream cheese, softened but still cool

Instructions

1. Lightly spray cooking spray into a 9-inch Pyrex pie plate and set aside until needed. Pie plate must be coated with cooking spray or this crust will stick.

2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Set aside until needed.

3. Using an electric mixer set on medium-high, beat softened butter and softened cream cheese in another mixing bowl. Stop mixing once or twice and scrape down bowl and mixing blade with rubber spatula. Beat about 2-minutes until butter and cream cheese are completely mixed.

4. Set mixer on medium-low and add flour mixture to butter-cream cheese mixture. Beat until mixture looks like coarse cornmeal, about 20-seconds. Scrape sides of bowl with rubber spatula.

5. Set mixer on medium-high and beat dough about 30-seconds, until it forms large clumps.

6. Take 3-tablespoons of dough from mixing bowl and reserve for later use. This will be used to form the fluted rim of the pie crust.
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7. Turn out the rest of the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Form dough into a ball and then flatten it into a circle about 6-inches across.

8. Place the pastry dough circle into the center of the greased 9-inch pie plate. Using your fingers (or the bottom of a drinking glass), press the dough into an even layer on the bottom of the pie plate. You can hold the pie plate up to the light to see if the dough is in an even layer.

9. Use your fingertips to press the dough up the sides of the pie plate. Make sure the dough is an even thickness throughout the pie plate.

10. Take the reserved 3-tablespoons of dough and roll into a 12-inch rope of dough on a floured surface. Cut the 12-inch dough rope into 3 even pieces. Roll each of the pieces into an 8-inch dough rope. Lay the three 8-inch dough ropes, end to end, around the top rim of the pie plate. Make sure all pieces of dough on the rim and bottom of pie plate are pressed together into a single layer. Form a fluted dough edge on the rim of the pie plate.

11. Cover pie plate with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 1-hour before baking.
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12. Preheat the oven to 325-degrees F. Use a fork to lightly poke the bottom of the pie crust. Bake empty pie crust (without using weights) on a middle oven rack until golden brown. Baking time 35 to 40 minutes.

If large bubbles form during cooking, wait until the pie crust is done and cooled. Then press down the bubbles with a kitchen towel.