Easy No-Roll Pie Crust

Friends.

This is important.

I need you to hold your pinky up for me.  We’re about to make a very important promise to one another.

I need you to promise me that you’ll never. ever.. ever… ever buy a store-bought pre-made pie crust again.  Don’t do it.  Promise me.

Those store bought pie crusts are full of all sorts of mystery fats, trans fats, dirty fats, mean fats… you don’t want all that mess in your pie!

Besides… I’ve come up with the pie crust recipe of your dreams.  Seriously.  Fluff the ingredients in a bowl, throw in some moisture, then press the dough directly into your pie pan.  No chilling.  No rolling.  No stress.  I’m looking out for you.

If you’re scared of pie, I’ve got you’re back…. promise… lemme show you.

The problem that I have with most No-Roll Pie Crust recipes on the Internet is that all of them simply use oil as the fat.  Where’s the butter?  Let’s not shun butter just because we’re not rolling the pie dough out!  Butter is an important part of pie dough.  It lends a little lift and loads of flavor.

My No-Roll Pie Crust recipe is a brilliant compromise.  I mixed cold butter with vegetable (I used almond) oil, and the secret ingredient: a touch of cream cheese for binding and creamy flavor.  The result is a crust somewhere in between a pie crust and a tart shell.  It’s slightly sweet, browns beautifully, has a lovely hint of butter and a crisp texture from the oil.  This dough is perfect for a custard pie or a pumpkin pie.

To pre-bake the pie crust for a chocolate cream or banana cream pie, line the chilled pie crust with foil, weigh down with beans and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes covered.  Remove the foil and beans and bake for 4-6 minutes uncovered until golden brown.

If you don’t need to pre-bake the shell, chill the pie crust in the pie plate in the freezer while you make the pie filling. Buttermilk Pie with Warm Blackberry Sauce?  Yum.  Pumpkin Pie!?  Heck yes!  Coming soon!

Remember… this is only a bottom crust recipe.  A top crust would involve some rolling, which would involve a different recipe.  We’re keeping it simple.

What’s in my quick pie crust today!?  A Good Old Fashioned Sugar Pie.

Good Old Fashioned Sugar Pie

from Sweets

makes 1 9-inch pie

Print this Recipe!

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

4 Tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

3 eggs

1 egg yolk

2 cups evaporated milk

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large saucepan, combine the granulated and brown sugars, cornstarch, cinnamon, slat and nutmeg.  Mix well.  Add the eggs and yolk and combine well with a whisk.  Gradually stir in the milk until well blended.

Turn the flame onto medium heat and cook ingredients, stirring constantly until the filling is thick and bubbly.  This took me about 7 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract.

Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack until ready to serve.  I like this pie best cold from the fridge.