Pat-In-the-Pan Pie Crust:

I have a pretty good Pie Crust Recipe on the blog already, and I really do like it, but I've really struggled getting it to that "amazing" point. It's by far the best of that type that I've tried and it is definitely good, but I'm just not sure how to compare it to this one! I always have a hard time transferring the rolled pie crust to the pan in one piece! Plus the entire process of making a pie, just takes a really long time. 

Until now. 

A friend lent me a magazine called "Cook's Country." You may be familiar with it, but it was something new to me, and I just loved it! It was super interesting and had some great tips.

And that's where I found this recipe.

I didn't have anything to loose, so I gave it a try and was beyond thrilled! 

Granted, you can not use it for a two-crust pie, but for a single pie crust, it's amazing! SUPER fast and easy to make and REALLY yummy! 

The ingredients and directions were a little surprising to me, but trust me, they all work and I hope you'll try it out!! 

1 & 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp. xanthan gum

2 tblsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 stick (8 tblsp.) butter, room temperature

2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

Lightly coat a deep dish 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray; set aside. 

In small bowl, whisk together the flour, xanthan gum, sugar and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl and beaters as needed. 

Add flour mixture and mix on medium-low until mixture resembles course crumbs - about 20 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl and beaters. 

Increase mixer speed to medium-high and beat until dough begins to form large clumps - about 30 seconds.

Turn dough out onto plastic wrap. Form into a ball and then flatten into a 6-inch disk. Transfer to prepared pie plate. 

Press dough evenly over bottom of pie plate toward sides, using the heel of your hand. You can hold it up to the light to make sure that it's pressed out evenly. 

Continue pressing up the sides and slightly over the edge of the plate until even.

Flute the edges. Wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour. 

To make a pre-baked pie shell:

Adjust your oven racks so that one rack is in the center of the oven and pre-heat to 325 degrees. Lightly prick bottom of crust with fork. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

To fill a pie and then bake:

Prepare according to your recipe directions and bake as directed. 

Note:

-When I made the apple pie in the above picture, the directions on the apple pie filling can said to brush the crust with an egg white wash. I really don't think this crust needed it at all. As you can tell from the picture, it got plenty golden-brown and almost burnt. I think it would have browned just fine on it's own, with no egg white wash!