Desserts
Nutty Pie Crust with peanuts or almonds
Every great pie needs a good crust. Not only is this one nutty, delicious, and super tender, it’s amazingly easy to make. Rather than cutting the butter into the flour like with a traditional pie crust and worrying about overworking it into a tough state, you just beat the butter with the flour — in a stand mixer. As the butter coats the flour it prevents gluten from forming, which guarantees a tender crust. It’s nearly no-fail!
The other great thing about this crust recipe is it works for different pies by simply swapping out the nut — peanuts for a banana cream pie, and almonds for coconut — such as our Chocolate-Coconut Candy Bar Cream Pie. Once the crust is ready, delve into the creamy fillings.
Ingredients
PROCESS:
BEAT:
Test Kitchen Tip
Before rolling out the crust, let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes to soften.
Instructions
Process 1 cup flour and nuts in a food processor until finely ground.
Beat butter, remaining 1 cup flour, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed until crumbly. Add nut mixture and water to butter mixture and beat until all butter is incorporated and a soft dough forms.
Form dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill at least 1 hour, or overnight.
Preheat oven to 375°. Roll out dough on a floured surface to ¼-inch thick. Transfer dough to a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Trim edge of dough with scissors leaving 1-inch overhang. Turn dough overhang under itself and crimp edges. Dock bottom of crust by pricking with a fork, then freeze 20 minutes.
Bake crust lined with parchment paper, filled with pie weights or dry beans, on a baking sheet until edge of crust is set, 25 minutes. Remove weights and parchment; bake crust until golden, 25 minutes more, then cool completely.
Process the nuts with the flour until they’re nearly as fine as flour so the crust holds together.
Beat dough ingredients together in a stand mixer until a soft dough forms for a crust that’s super tender
Turn dough edge under itself to create a thick lip, then crimp between thumb and forefinger.