My family loves Rhubarb Pie, so in honor of Ken being home I made this beautifully tasty pie. The filling recipe is a tried and true favorite from the Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book, but the crust recipe is a new one that I found from watching Americas Cook Country Kitchen. Once I saw what the special ingredient was, I just had to try it! I'm so glad I did, the crust turned out very flakey and yummy.
I have to add, I am indebted to my mother-in-law for this pie.... She bought me The Complete American's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001-2011 which has the crust recipe in it, and she has a beautiful rhubarb plant in her back yard that she doesn't use and I have free access to it (as long as I share some of the goodies I make from it!).
Crust recipe:
Foolproof Double-Crust Pie Dough
(Makes enough for One 9-inch pie)
Vodka is essential to the tender texture of this crust and imparts no flavor - do not substitute water. This dough is moister than most standard pie doughs and will require lots of flour to roll out (up to 1/4 cup). The dough, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let the dough thaw completely on the counter before rolling it out.
2 1/2 cups (12.5 oz.) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for the work surface
2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and chilled
1/2 cup vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces and chilled
1/4 cup vodka, chilled
1/4 cup ice water
1. Process 1 1/2 cups of the flour, the sugar, and salt together in a food processor until combined. Scatter the butter and shortening over the top and continue to process until incorporated and the mixture begins to form uneven clumps with no remaining floury bits, about 15 seconds.
2. Scrape down the workbowl and redistribute the dough evenly around the processor blade. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup flour over the dough and pulse until the mixture has broken up into pieces and is evenly distributed around the bowl, 4 to 6 pulses.
3. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Sprinkle the vodka and water over the mixture. Stir and press the dough together, using a stiff rubber spatula, until the dough sticks together.
4. Divide the dough into two even pieces. Turn each piece of dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and flatten each into a 4-inch disk. Wrap each piece tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Before rolling the dough out, let it sit on the counter to soften slightly, about 10 minutes.
Pie Filling:
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
6 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened, sliced rhubarb (I usually use 7-8 cups of Fresh rhubarb)
1. In a large bowl stir together sugar, flour, and, if desired, cinnamon. Add rhubarb. Gently toss until coated. (If using frozen fruit, let mixture stand for 45 minutes or until fruit is partially thawed but still icy.)
2. Transfer rhubarb mixture to the pastry-lined pie plate and add top crust.
3. To prevent overbrowning, cover edge of the pie with foil. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes (or 60 minutes for frozen fruit). Remove foil. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes more or until topping is golden and filling in center is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack.
This time around I made up the filling a day or so early (on accident) and it released a lot of juices, so I sprinkled about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of corn starch over the fruit and stirred it in to try and thicken it up. It baked up perfectly.
