The Great Pie Crust Experiment

I don't know if you know this, but pie crust is kind of a big deal. If the crust is too sweet for the filling, you end up with something so rich you want to barf (I know from experience). If the crust is too dry, it falls apart and you end up with flakes of crust all over your lap and a big ol' mess (I also know from several experiences).

When searching for the perfect crust for my baby pecan pies, I had two variables: the moisture and the fat. The flour was not a variable. I used White Lily flour in all of my trials, in the same amount each time (1 cup for the trial rounds). But the ratio of butter/shortening to flour and water is an essential one, and here are some of the results I came up with, followed by my recipe for the perfect mini pecan pie crust.

ROUND ONE: BASIC TART PASTRY

I started with only the best

Making a very small batch with a fork. The pastry blender worked much better.

Trying different shapes. The conclusion: the simpler, the better

Mixing up the filling as the dough flash baked. Just brown sugar, egg, butter, pecans

These were the cream of the crop of that batch 

I couldn't resist. It passed the test with flying colors.

And with the pretty pecan on top, who else could resist either?

ROUND TWO: CREAM CHEESE PASTRY

This is the type of pastry that Paula Deen's recipe calls for, as well as the pecan tassie recipe in Nathalie Dupree's book. I think it's overkill.

I made extra mini pies for this round. Too high of a dough to filling ratio.

And they were a big mess

And then they also just looked kinda funny

They tasted good, but they were so rich, I almost had a heart attack

Favorite Miniature Pie Crust Recipe, adapted from Nathalie Dupree's "LuLen's Beginner's Pie Crust" in New Southern Cooking:

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups of White Lily flour
• 1/2 tsp of sea salt
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 3-6 tbsp ice water

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F
2. Mix the flour and salt together loosely with a fork.
3. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender. Add the ice water, one tbsp at a time, until the mixture is moist and holds together. Gather it loosely into a ball and flatten. Cover and let it rest a few moments (NOTE: I put half in the fridge and left half out on the counter, and it did not affect the overall results. The stuff I left out was easier to work with though.)
4. Butter your muffin tins. 
5. Break off approximately 30 balls of dough (each about 1.5 inches in diameter) and place in the muffin tin. Line the pans with the dough by pressing the dough with your fingertips against the bottoms and sides. 
6. You can flash bake these mini crusts for 6-8 minutes, but you don't have to. It depends how crispy you want the end result. When you're ready, add your filling (pecan filling, in my case) and bake for 25 minutes. Transfer immediately to a rack to avoid getting soggy bottoms on your pies. These taste best after they've cooled for about a half hour. If you decide to cool and store them, you can heat them quickly in a toaster oven to simulate the warm, fresh-baked feeling.

Flour and Sugar, 

Carrie Melissa