Pie Crust

I’m going to be posting the recipes I used for my pie competition over the next couple of days. The first thing needed when baking pies is a crust. I’ve actually never made full sized pie crusts before. I went with a William Sonoma recipe that is similar to most pie crust recipes out there. I used butter flavored Crisco and the crusts turned out flaky and delicious. I made 4 crusts even though I only needed 3 just in case I needed that extra one.

See WS link for ingredient list for 1 pie crust and for food processor method. I made sure everything was VERY cold before making my crusts. I measured the ingredients into bowl and put them in the freezer for 45 minutes. I also put my mixing bowl and pastry cutter into the freezer for about 20 minutes.

Pie crust – from William Sonoma
For a 9-inch double-crust pie:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup vegetable shortening
6 to 7 Tbs. cold water

Combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl and toss together. Add the shortening. With your fingertips, 2 knives or a pastry blender, blend the ingredients together, working quickly, until you have a mixture of tiny, irregular flakes and bits about the size of coarse bread crumbs. Sprinkle on the water, 1 Tbs. at a time, stirring gently with a fork after each addition. Add just enough water for the dough to form a rough mass.

With floured hands, pat the dough into a smooth disk (or into 2 disks, one just slightly larger than the other, if you are making a double-crust pie). The dough is now ready to use. It is not necessary to refrigerate the dough before rolling out (unless you included some butter), although for convenience it may be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 2 days.

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11 Responses to “White Chocolate Cranberry Mousse”

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    theblogisthenewblack — October 27, 2010 at 11:44 am

    Love any type of mousse- esp if it’s pink!

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    Debbi Does Dinner Healthy — October 27, 2010 at 12:25 pm

    Love the pink! So cute and it looks and sounds delicous! Thanks!

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    Boston Food Diary — October 27, 2010 at 2:10 pm

    This looks so wonderful! I never would have thought of cranberries and white chocolate together- you are so right-what a great option for Thanksgiving!

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    4
    Cupcake Activist — October 27, 2010 at 3:47 pm

    Great idea! I am always in charge of dessert for Thanksgiving and this would be perfect to add to the line-up.

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    5
    Megan — October 27, 2010 at 5:17 pm

    I know you said lighter dessert idea, but I’m picturing a cranberry mousse tart with dark chocolate drizzled on top!

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    Rachel @ The Avid Appetite — October 27, 2010 at 8:31 pm

    This looks delicious! Also, can I ask…what kind of backdrop do you shoot your photos on? It is so clean and really highlights the food at hand!

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    7
    Jen — October 27, 2010 at 8:42 pm

    Rachel – For the majority of my photographs, I use 12″x12″ scrapbooking pages. I have a bg folder with all my pages in them. I have been using a lot of solid colors recently. I have to admit I love how the blue background really makes the pink mousse pop in these pics!

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    The Small Boston Kitchen — October 27, 2010 at 9:40 pm

    Lovin’ the cranberryness here!

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    9
    Nutmeg Nanny — October 28, 2010 at 3:17 am

    Love the pinkness and love the recipe!

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    10
    oneordinaryday — October 31, 2010 at 11:51 am

    This sounds delicious, and I love how that beautiful pink color just pops. Definitely going on my menu!!

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    11
    Eliana — November 1, 2010 at 3:45 pm

    This mousse looks divine! I could not be trusted around it.

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