Pate Brisée

Baking pies and tarts, and even quiche (or anything with a crust) can give you an "old-fashioned" feeling and so much self-gratification (I hope at least someone gets what I mean by this!!!). The flour in your hair, the aroma coming from the oven, and the smiles on the anxious faces of those waiting to taste what's baking, makes every effort worth it. And when you make your crust from scratch, too, it makes you feel even more proud to say it was all done by YOU.

Today, it's pretty convient to grab a frozen crust from your grocer's freezer. I think it's becoming more common for people to opt for the pre-made, rather than make their own. Maybe it's because many people think it's a really hard thing to do?! Maybe it's because people don't have the time?! Or maybe it's because not everyone has a fool-proof recipe for a no-fail crust!? I'm not exactly sure, but I am sure of this: here is my fool-proof, sweet or savoury, pie crust recipe, that you can use in all your favourite recipes. If you have a food processor, you can soon whip up homemade crusts in no time. The original recipe for this came from the Joy of Baking website. I had tried many different pie recipes (with vinegar, lard, shortening, etc) and when I found this one, I knew it was just what I was looking for. The only source of fat in this is butter. Pure, natural butter. If you have your own crust recipe that uses other fats and you swear by it, I am not going to argue whose is better. We all have our own personal preferences and tastes (and favourite ingredients). I just want to share a crust recipe that we can label as "healthy", simply because it avoids the not-so-good-fat pie crust options out there. I've tweaked it slightly to my taste preferences. Enjoy!

Pate Brisée

• 2 1/2 cups AP flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tbsp white sugar (for savoury crust) OR 1 tbsp white sugar (for sweet crust)
• 1 cup (2 sticks) COLD butter, cut into small pcs
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup COLD water

1. In the bowl of your food processor, add flour, salt and sugar and process for about 10-15 seconds, just to combine.
2. With the processor on, add the pcs of butter through the chute, one at a time, and process until the mixture resembles pea sized crumbs (approx 15-25 seconds).
3. Place 1/2 cup of cold water into a pourable cup, and slowly start to pour water through chute of running processor. Stop pouring as soon as the mixture JUST starts coming together in a ball (about 20-30 seconds).
4. Pour dough ball onto floured surface and gently form 2 balls, flattening each into a disc. Wrap discs tightly in saran and place in fridge for at least 30 minutes (or you can freeze).
5. Remove dough from fridge and unwrap. Place on floured surface and begin to roll out. Make sure you are generous with the flour and that you occasionaly lift the dough and rotate, to avoid sticking. Roll to desired size.
6. Lightly roll dough around rolling pin to transfer to pie plate. Prick un-cooked crust a few times with a fork, to avoid large areas of puffing. Add your favourite ingredients on top and cook to specified recipe. Enjoy!

*This recipe is enough for a top and bottom crust, with likely some leftovers for tarts :) *