Jo and Sue: Pie Crust Ideas

Ever have leftover pie crust that you just don't know what to do with?

I know my go-to pie crust recipe makes enough to do 3 double crust pies and I usually don't make 3 pies at one time. Pie crust does freeze well, of course, but sometimes you just want to do something a little different with the leftovers.

A lot of times the pie filling only makes enough for a small pie and you don't want to double the recipe if it is a new recipe because you don't know if you will like it. This can also leave you with extra dough laying around.

Here are some of the ideas Sue and I have come up with to use up the extra dough as well as some links to pie recipes on our blog.

Jo and Sue's Never Fail Pie Crust Recipe

Ingredients

5 cups flour

1 lb lard, chilled

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

3 Tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp vinegar

cold water (about 2/3 cup)

Directions

Mix together first 4 ingredients (flour, lard, baking powder, salt) using 2 knives or a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (You can also pulse briefly in a blender or food processor!)

Mix next 3 ingredients (egg, brown sugar, vinegar) together in a 1 cup measuring cup, beating with a fork. Add enough cold water to fill the 1 cup. Add to dry mixture. Use fork to mix initially then bring together with your hands. Try not to work it too much or it gets tough. The least amount you can handle the dough the better.

Divide into 3 parts. Wrap in plastic wrap and store in fridge. Will keep in fridge for about a week. Can be frozen. Simply thaw in fridge overnight to use. Makes enough for 3 (8 inch) double pie crusts.

Now for some ideas and photos:

When I made the Grape Cream Pie for a contest last year I had some leftover pie crust and a bit of the filling too. I decided to make some mini tarts to bring to work.

Mini tarts are a great way to use up the pie dough if you only have a tiny bit left.

Speaking of tarts... I had extra dough but no extra filling so decided to finish off the pie dough this particular time by making Jam Tarts. Just fill with your favorite jam (above: strawberry and apricot/peach) and bake as usual. (The tarts on the bottom are Butter Tarts. Click the link for our recipe)

A quick, yet really cool treat is the Apple Pie in an Apple. You can check our blog about it by clicking the link. Turns out it is a great way to use up extra pie dough as well.

You can make some cute little hand pies out of extra dough too. Use your favorite cookie cutter, some jam or canned pie filling, or extra pie filling from your favorite pie, and make these adorable little hand pies. (These ones are raspberry jam with some pink sanding sugar sprinkled on top.)

This Cherry Pie Cheesecake Tart was one of the best recipes I ever invented. Well, in my opinion anyway. I made it with several leftover ingredients (including pie dough) and it turned out really yummy.

This was me trying to be all fancy with extra pie dough. I was trying to make pie crust "cookies". They turned out great...they were just an incredible pain in the butt to make. I simply wove some pie crust and then used a cookie cutter to cut out the shape. I brushed it with a little butter and sprinkled on some cinnamon sugar and baked on a cookie sheet.

They tasted great.

I think I made 4 of them.

Yeah.

They were pretty tricky.

At least I got a photo to remember them by.

See....aren't they gorgeous.

If you have a million hours and endless patience then definitely make these. They are so pretty.

I probably won't be making them again soon.

Now, if you prefer to use your pie dough to make actual pies....

Here are some of Jo and Sue's favorite pies:

Rhubarb Pie

Sour Cream Raisin Pie