4 minute read
Rustic Pineapple Pie
Full disclosure, this is a Brass Sisters recipe, but it’ s hard to find the whole recipe online. Oven temperature: 400° Bake time: 30-45 minutes
Ingredients
Double Crust:
● 2 ½ Cups Flour ● 3 TBS Sugar ● ¼ tsp salt* ● 1 Cup (2 sticks) cold, salted* butter ● ¼ Cup + up to 2 additional TBS ice-cold water ● * Only add salt if using unsalted butter ● Egg wash: ● 1 egg ● Splash of milk
Filling:
● 2 (20 oz) cans crushed pineapple ● 2 ½ TBS cornstarch ● ¼ cup + 2 ½ TBS pineapple juice ● ¾ cups sugar ● 2 tsp lemon zest ● 1 TBS lemon juice ● 1 tsp vanilla ● 1/3 tsp salt (large pinch)
Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 400° Fahrenheit. 2. Open both cans of pineapple and drain as much juice as you can into a bowl. Set juice aside. Transfer pineapple into a strainer in a clean sink and allow to continue draining, periodically pressing juice out with a rubber spatula or spoon.
3. As the pineapple continues to drain, make the crust.
Mix the flour and sugar in a bowl. Slice the cold, salted* butter into the flour and sugar mixture, and blend well (until butter begins to soften), using a pastry blender.
* If using unsalted butter, add salt to the flour and sugar mixture before blending butter in. I’ ve tried this recipe both ways and preferred it with salted butter. I think most baking recipes assume use of unsalted sweet cream butter, but I grew up with only salted butter and we would just eliminate the salt from any recipes that called for both salt and butter.
Sprinkle in about 1/8 cup of the ice-cold water. Blend mixture with a clean hand by raking and squeezing the mixture together. Sprinkle in the remaining 1/8 cup of water and continue to blend well with your hand until mixture just comes together. Do not overwork or knead it; the dough will be crumbly as we are shooting for a flaky crust. If it seems like it will absolutely not stick together enough to roll out, you can add more water, a tablespoon at a time.
Separate dough mixture into two parts on a clean, floured surface. Form both parts into round disks/patties by patting down, flipping over, and shaping the edges, careful not to overwork it. Place disks on a plate, separating with a sprinkling of flour, or in plastic wrap (which can also be used to help shape the disks). If dough is becoming overly soft and sticky, you can put it in the freezer to chill while making the filling. Otherwise, you can just set aside.
4. Make the filling.
Put the drained pineapple in a mixing bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk 2 ½ TBS of the set aside pineapple juice with 2 ½ TBS of cornstarch until smooth. Fold this mixture into the pineapple. Add ¼ cup more of the set aside pineapple juice to the pineapple mixture. Discard or drink remaining pineapple juice.
Fold sugar into the pineapple mixture. Zest a medium lemon and add 2 tsp of the zest into the pineapple mixture. Then juice the lemon for 1 TBS of juice and add it to the mixture. Stick with these amounts, it’ s a pineapple pie, not a lemon pie. I’ ve tried it with more because I love lemon and it was no good.
Add the vanilla and salt into the pineapple mixture and mix well. Set aside.
5. Sprinkle a clean, cold surface with flour. Place one disk on a floured surface. Sprinkle top with flour. Gently begin to roll out dough into a large circle using a rolling pin also dusted with flour. It is a delicate crust, so if it begins to tear, roll pin in opposite direction until smooth. Once the crust is 1-2 inches bigger than the diameter of the pie plate, roll the crust up onto a rolling pin and transfer dough into the pie plate. If dough has torn at this point, pinch and press dough together until the pie shell is smooth enough to hold a filling.
Pour pineapple filling into pie shell and spread evenly. Roll out second disk of dough the same way as the first for the top crust. Transfer it over the pie shell and fold under the edges, crimping/pinching the edges of the crust. Cut four or five slits into the middle of the top of the pie (or however your creative brain wants to vent the pie).
6. Beat an egg and splash of milk together with a fork or whisk in a mug or bowl until blended. Brush egg wash onto pie crust using your fingers or a pastry brush. Be sure to egg wash the entire surface. You will not use full mixture, discard remaining. Place the pie on middle rack of the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. The edges of the crust may brown quicker and can be covered with foil before rest of crust is finished browning.
Serve pie warm or cooled. I think it tastes best the next day, cooled, à la mode.
