Pride of Pie
Four fabulous fruit desserts with one great low-fat crust.
 
By Susanne A. Davis, Photographs by Brian Hagiwara - Eating Well, September 1997

Summer's last hurrah: Labor Day Weekend. It's time again for the Champlain Valley Fair. My husband and I haven't missed one yet. It's your classic country fair, complete with midway barkers, rickety thrill rides, cotton candy and a veritable zoo of prize cows, pigs, sheep and rabbits. Zucchini, pumpkins and tomatoes are measured up to determine which is the most humongous. But my absolute favorite part of the fair is the pie-baking contest - where taste is what counts.

Proud bakers from all over the county come to pit their perfect pies against last year's champion. Make no mistake, this is serious business - reputations are at stake. Anxious contestants mill about, gossiping nervously while the judges poke, prod, sniff and taste their way through 30 or so fresh fruit pies. And after endless sampling, conferring and nodding, they finally bestow the covered First Prize blue ribbon. While the credit for the award may be attributed to the originality of the filling, I'm convinced the craft that goes into creating the flakiest crust is what really distinguishes the winner.

Unfortunately, it's the crust that generally keeps people from knowing the joys of piedom. Anyone who has ever made a pie has encountered the crust from Hell - either the dough fell apart, was too wet, too dry or too tough. Homemade crusts can be so downright frustrating that many a cook has abandoned all hope. Seasoned pie-makers (who become so by starting over the minute a crust's doom seems inevitable) have learned that once they've mastered the "touch" for crust, no pie or tart is our of reach - and that first successful crust recipe is usually adopted for life.

So it's understandable that when presented with a low-fat crust option, bakers would feel a deep reluctance to deviate from the tried-and-true - not to mention the fact that low-fat crusts are notoriously tough. Here, though, I've created a practically foolproof dough for an exceedingly tender crust.

With a traditional high-fat pie dough, it's easy to go wrong because the dough must be chilled and rolled out while the butter or shortening is still cold - a relatively small window of time (especially for the beginner). Nuts and nut oil replace most of the butter in my version, so the timing is less particular. This dough doesn't need to be refrigerated, which cut down on preparation time, and because it is rolled out between sheets of plastic wrap, it won't stick to the countertop and it can be easily lifted.

With this one recipe, you'll be able to bake myriad desserts - whether an elegant single-crust tart, a free-form crostata or an all-American double-cruster. So if you've cursed at crusts and sworn off them forever, give it one more shot. Try any one of these recipes: if you can make one, you can make them all. Even if you've settled on the crust recipe of your dreams, take a risk and pair this healthy crust with your secret filling recipe. It's sure to be a winner.

NUT PASTRY DOUGH

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Spread nuts in a pie pan and bake for 5 to 7 minutes, or until fragrant. Let cool.

In a food processor, combine nuts, flour, sugar and salt; process until nuts are finely chopped. Add butter and process until incorporated. Transfer to a large bowl.

Drizzle oil over flour mixture. Use your fingertips to rub oil into the mixture. One tablespoon at a time, add water and mix with a fork until dough is crumbly and holds together when pressed.

If making a single crust, gently form dough into a flattened disk. If making a double crust, divide dough into 2 pieces, 1 slightly larger than the other, and forn each into a disk. (The dough will keep, lightly wrapped in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months. Return dough to room temperature before rolling.)

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