French Pie Pastry in the Food Processor, Easy and Delicious!

The pastry handles beautifully!

I am working up to making a new recipe for cooked Apple Pie Filling that I am going to freeze to fit into a prepared crust as in the Peach Pie Filling I recently posted.  With that in mind I am going to go ahead and prepare the pie pastry to have ready in the refrigerator so I can make a test pie the morning I get started.

I have had the apples for a week now but they were picked the same day I got them so there is no big rush there.  Yesterday morning I got another round of shots in both knees so it takes me a day or two to get back to full speed.  I am thinking tomorrow morning I will do the first 10 pounds.  I expect that to be enough for 3-4 pies depending on the amount of waste.

I really do like the canned apple pie filling I have made the last 2 years and I prefer the cooked apples.  But, after coming across a Cooked Apple Pie filling you freeze in my Ball Blue book and thinking to adapt that to the method I used for the Frozen Peach Pie filling I am anxious to do a test batch!

But first things first!  Yesterday I saw while doing my hand sewing, Melissa d'Arabian  on her $10.00 Meals Program this Pie Crust she made in the processor.  I have made this basic recipe before and had issues of the butter getting too warm to work easily.  Her specific tips about dicing the butter and placing it in the freezer and then using the pulse action of the food processor sound like "IDEAS I WISH I HAD THOUGHT OF!"

Cut the butter into dice like pieces and stick in the freezer a while before making the crusts.

But I will add my own HELPFUL HINT of saving and freezing the butter wrappers for using in buttering dishes later as needed!

Freezing butter wrappers comes in so handy for greasing pans and dishes and no messy hands!

Ingredients for French Pie Pastry in the Food Processor:

2 sticks of butter, cut to dice and frozen
2 1/4 C. flour
1 t. salt
1/2 C. cold water  (8-10 T.)

When the dough comes together you are ready for the nest step.

Place butter, flour, and salt into the food processor and pulse until a coarse sand like consistency.  Next add the cold water a tablespoon at a time pulsing until the pastry comes together and starts forming a dough.  Dump onto a floured surface and gather together to form a ball. Split into two pieces and form them into two disks.  Wrap them well and place into the refrigerator for 30 minutes or up to 3 days or freeze for later use.

This is the easiest pie dough ever!

Ready for the refrigerator or freezer.

Before rolling take them out for 5-10 minutes to soften just a bit.  Roll on well floured board and proceed with your favorite recipe. Don't forget to label and date if you freeze.  Generally for a two crust 10" pie I would bake at 375 degrees F. for 50-70 minutes.  If the edges brown more than you like cover with strips of foil.  OPTIONAL brush with an egg yolk mixed with a little water and sprinkle with sugar (or cinnamon and sugar) before baking.    Yields two 10" pie crusts.