There are times when you really want pie, but you really don’t want to go to the trouble of making pie crust. The cutting in of the cubed butter, the systematic spooning of the ice water, flour all over the counters as you work the dough out with a rolling pin… Some days it seems meditative and other days it just seems like a hassle.
Well, this no-fuss crust is never a hassle. There’s no rolling, no cutting in, and it bakes up beautifully.
Yes, you heard that right. No rolling!
You mix all the ingredients together in a bowl: flour, oil, cold water (no need for ice), baking powder, and salt, and then press the dough into the pie dish. You can press it out with your hands or a flat-bottomed glass; it only takes a few moments.
It’s all the convenience of a store-bought crust, but you get to control the ingredients. For instance, you can use whatever oil you like! Peanut, olive, avocado, canola… you could even use melted butter. It all works. It comes out tender and surprisingly flaky.
This makes enough for a 9-inch single crust pie and if you need to blind bake it, just make sure you poke holes in it first with a fork to keep it from puffing up too much. If you do need a top-crust, you can double this recipe and simply tear apart little pieces of dough for the second crust, scattering them across the top of the pie as a kind of streusel topping.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup oil of your choice
3 tablespoons cold water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
PREPARATION
Lightly grease a 9-inch pie dish with nonstick spray. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder.
Add oil and water and mix until combined. Form into a ball.
Press ball of dough into the bottom of prepared pie dish, spreading it out towards the sides. Using your knuckles or the bottom of a glass, push it evenly across the bottom and up the sides of the dish.
Crimp top edges or flatten with fork tines, fill with favorite filling, and bake according to your pie’s instructions.
