Shortbread Pie Crust

 

 

 

 

 

 

We often eat shortbread as a soft and buttery cookie. Shortbread dough can however be used to make pie crust. Pie crust made out of shortbread pastry has a buttery sweet flavor with a crisp texture. It is very easy to make and does not require rolling out with a rolling pin. It is an instant pastry which eliminates the need for resting the pie dough in the fridge after it has been made. It is quite adaptable and can be used in a lot of pie and tart dishes like my Apple-Tamarind Tart (Recipe here) and Fruit Tarts (Recipe here) This is a recipe by Stephanie Jaworski.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

(1) 130 Grams All Purpose Flour (1 Cup)

(2) 35 Grams Confectioners/Icing Sugar (1/3 Cup)

(3) 1/8 Teaspoon Salt

(4) 113 Grams Unsalted Butter (1/2 Cup)

For Sealing:

(1) 1 Egg White OR

(2) Apricot Jam OR

(3) Melted Chocolate

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOTES:

(1) Like most pie dough recipes, the butter should be cold. Cold butter would create pockets in the pie which would create air holes when it is baked. This is what makes pies flaky. Cut the butter into smaller chunks so it blends in easily with the flour.

(2) If using salted butter, omit the salt in the recipe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROCEDURE:

(1) Place flour, sugar and salt in the food processor and process to combine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2) Add the chunks of butter to the flour mixture and process until the dough comes together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(3) Grease or Spray an 8 or 9 inch tart pan with vegetable spray. Turn the pie dough on the tart pan and spread it with your fingers to cover the whole pan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(4) Smooth the pie dough with the back of a spoon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOTE: Pricking holes in the crust will keep the crust from puffing up during baking. This however is not important for shortbread crust. If pricking holes in your crust, use a fork and do not make deep holes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(5) Place the crust in the freezer to chill for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 425 degrees. The crust can also be kept in the fridge for 30 minutes. I have made this crust days before it was used and kept it in the fridge until it was needed.

NOTE: If the recipe you are using does not call for a pre-baked pie crust the crust can be used now.

(6) If the recipe calls for a pre-baked pie crust, bake the crust for 12 – 15 minutes in the oven or until golden brown.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sealing

Sealing refers to covering the top of the crust with a sealing agent which would prevent the pie filling from soaking the crust. As every pie baker knows, soggy pie bottoms is a no no. There are 3 ways of sealing a pie crust. The first is by brushing it with egg white as soon as the crust comes out of the oven. The second method is by brushing the crust with melted and strained apricot jam when the pie has cooled down. The third method is to brush the crust with melted chocolate. This third method is used for chocolate-based pie fillings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also have a recipe for a Simple Pie Crust which can be found here.