Pi cutter to add to the collection

I received a very exciting package in the mail today — all the way from the Netherlands!

Pi Cutter

This year, I made quite a few special Pi Day Pies with hand-made Pi’s on top. Next year I want to make even better looking Pi’s. Jim helped me find this 3-D printed Pi cutter on Etsy, made by Printmeneer in the Netherlands. It arrived quickly, and it’s a great shape.

I can’t wait to use it next Pi Day for making even fancier pies!

Discovering the Secrets of Shortbread Crust

Peach Shortbread Pie. Photography by Diane and Doug Russell.
Peach Shortbread Pie. Photography by Diane and Doug Russell.

The first time I read the ingredients and instructions for making shortbread crust for a pie, I had serious doubts about its possible success.  Like most pie crust recipes, the shortbread crust recipe has just a few ingredients, five to be exact: flour, sugar, salt, butter, and egg yolk.  The proportions did not seem to be very “wet” at all; what would make this crust stick together?

Shortbread crust was a different type of pie crust from the “regular” recipe I usually make.  The ingredients mix up sort of powdery.  It doesn’t form a ball; it’s not really a dough.  It is not rolled out, but instead the mixture is gently pressed into place in the pie pan.

The recipe calls for setting aside 1/4 of the crumbles for topping the pie.  That’s also a very nice feature on a finished pie.

Like all pie pastry, this recipe requires patience, and, in this case, a bit of adventure when dealing with the unexpected.  The technique is really not all that difficult, and the resulting pie crust is wonderful.

My adaptation of the recipe is a little bit wetter and a little bit easier to handle.  Plus it makes enough shortbread crust for 2 pies.

Shortbread Crust

2.5 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 salt
1 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
3 egg yolks, beaten to blend

Blend flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add butter pieces and cut in with pastry cutter until a coarse mixture forms. Drizzle yolks over surface and mix with a fork until crumbs form. Do not form into a ball. Pat 3/4 of the mixture over the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch pie pie. You could use a tart pan; I never do.

My two favorite fillings so far are apples or peaches. Watch for both of those recipes to come.