Dairy-Free Pie Crust

The best and easiest pie crust you'll ever make is from Cook's Illustrated. I love the magazine and cookbooks but they're not known for simple recipes but trust me, this one is. The only problem is it's loaded with almost a cup of butter.  I was hoping I could replace the butter with dairy-free margarine and still get great results and I did.  Honestly, it also works pretty well with all shortening too just not as tasty.

One tip, if you like to roll your pie crusts out sandwiched between sheets of wax paper (like my mother does) this dough will not work since it's too wet. Use generous amounts of flour on your work surface and rolling pin and turn the dough every few seconds so you're sure it's not sticking to the counter. 

Dairy-Free Version of Cook's Illustrated Foolproof Pie Crust

2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted dairy-free margarine, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup cold 80-proof vodka
1/4 cup cold water

Process 1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add margarine and shortening and process until homogeneous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour).

Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining 1 cup (5 ounces) flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Do not process until a pasty dough forms.  Transfer mixture to medium bowl.

Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until it's slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide into two even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.

Image courtesy of Cook's Illustrated magazine.

Comments

[Bonnie]

People who are lactose intolerant sometimes miss out on the fun of having the sweet treats that most people can freely choose to have or not have.

Cornflakes with milk, ice cream, milk chocolate and lots of other foods are out of the question if they want to be free of any uncomfortable symptoms.

Recipes like this allow everyone to enjoy the same dish, without sacrificing taste.