Crumb Crust Pie Recipes

CRUMB TOP RHUBARB PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F.
• Combine 1 cup flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt in bowl; cut in 1/3 cup butter with pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in enough water with fork just until flour is moistened.
• Shape dough into ball; flatten slightly. Roll out on lightly floured surface into 12-inch circle. Fold into quarters. Place dough into 9-inch pie pan; unfold, pressing firmly against bottom and sides. Trim crust to 1/2 inch from edge of pan. Crimp or flute edge. Set aside.
• Combine all filling ingredients except rhubarb in bowl. Add rhubarb; toss until well coated. Spoon into prepared crust. Set aside.
• Combine 1/2 cup flour and 1/3 cup sugar in bowl; cut in 1/4 cup butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle mixture over rhubarb. Cover edge of crust with 2-inch strip aluminum foil. Bake 50-60 minutes or until topping is golden brown and filling bubbles around edges. Remove aluminum foil during last 10 minutes, if desired.

CRUMB TOPPING RECIPE

Steps:

• Grate cold butter into a large bowl. Alternately, you can dice it small.
• Add sugar: use all brown or all white or a combination to make 2/3 cup. Use whatever combination you like (I like using 1/3 cup each brown and white).
• Add flour and then, using a pastry cutter, work the butter into the flour and sugar until the mixture forms coarse crumbs.
• Use crumble as recipe directs, on a fruit pie or on muffins or coffee cake. Bake as directed in recipe.

CRUMB TOPPING

Steps:

• In a bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup light-brown sugar, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and cinnamon.
• Cut 1 1/2 sticks chilled unsalted butter into pieces. With your hands, work in butter pieces, until large clumps form. Divide mixture in half; freeze in plastic storage bags.

HOW TO MAKE A CRUMB CRUST

Steps:

• Stir the ingredients together. Press into an ungreased pie or springform pan. Optional: For a crispier crust, bake at 350ºF for 5 minutes. Cool before filling.

CLASSIC APPLE CRUMB PIE

Steps:

• Make the crust: Whisk the flour, granulated sugar and salt in a large bowl. Rub the butter pieces into the flour using your fingers until pea-size pieces form. Drizzle in the vinegar and ice water; stir gently with a fork to combine. If the dough doesn't hold together when you squeeze it, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Turn out the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and form into a disk; wrap tightly. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 13-inch round. Ease into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim the edges, leaving a 1-inch overhang, then tuck the overhanging dough under itself; crimp the edges with a fork. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Meanwhile, make the crumb topping: Mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Rub the butter into the mixture with your fingers until no longer floury and crumbs form. Freeze until ready to use.
• Make the filling: Place a foil-lined baking sheet on the lowest oven rack; preheat to 400˚. Mix the apples, melted butter, both sugars, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Spoon the filling into the chilled pie crust. Pat the crumb mixture on top.
• Bake the pie on the hot baking sheet until lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350˚ and bake until the apples are completely soft when pierced with a paring knife, 60 to 80 more minutes. (If the topping is getting too dark, cover loosely with foil.) Transfer the pie to a rack to cool completely.

CRUMB TOPPING FOR PIES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, mix together the sugar and flour. Mix in butter with a fork or stand mixer just until the topping is crumbly. Top your pie before baking.

DUTCH APPLE PIE (CRUMB CRUST)

Steps:

• 1. Combine the first 4 ingredients; set aside 1 cup for topping. Press remaining crumb mixture into an ungreased 9" pie plate; set aside.
• 2. For the filling: Combine sugar, cornstarch and water in a saucepan until smooth; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Remove from heat and add apples, vanilla and cinnamon. Pour into crust.
• 3. Top with reserved crumb mixture.
• 4. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

BASIC CRUMB CRUST

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, stir the crumbs, sugar, if using, and salt together to combine. Stir in the melted butter and mix to combine. The crust should easily hold together in clumps when you press it together between your fingers (if it doesn't, add a little more melted butter, 14 g / 1 tablespoon at a time, until it does).
• Press the crust evenly into the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9-inch / 23-cm pie plate: First make an even layer in the bottom of the pan, then press the rest of the crumbs up the sides. Sometimes I use the bottom of a small dry measuring cup to help press the crust in evenly; this is especially helpful in the corners of the pan.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C (don't use a Baking Steel/stone when baking a crumb crust). To parbake the crust, bake (no docking or pie weights required) for 10 to 12 minutes, until it begins to lightly brown at the edges (or, for darker crumbs, smells lightly toasty). To blind-bake the crust, bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until it is deeply golden brown and/or smells toasty.
• Do Ahead: This crust is best used the day it's made but can be parbaked or blind-baked up to 1 day ahead and stored at room temperature.
• Variations:
• Mini (Two-Bite) Crumb Crusts: Grease the cavities of a mini muffin pan with nonstick spray. Crumble or spoon 15 g / 1 tablespoon of the prepared crust mixture into each of the cavities. Press each portion with your fingers to be flush against the base and up the sides, taking care to press evenly all the way around. Chill the pan in the refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes, before baking at 350°F / 175°C for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely, then use a small offset spatula to unmold the shells before filling. Alternatively, the mini crusts can be frozen for 2 hours after assembling before using a small offset spatula to unmold the pie shells. Keep frozen until ready to fill.
• Unbaked Crumb Crust: For cream, chiffon, and cold-set pies, the crust doesn't need to be baked at all! After lining the pan with the crust, freeze it for at least 15 minutes before adding the filling.
• Pie Pep Talk
• What to do when a crumb crust shrinks: One of the most common problems I've seen with crumb crusts is that they can shrink or slump down the side of the pie plate when the crust is parbaked. Luckily, this is easily corrected. If you notice that your crust is starting to shrink, remove it from the oven and use a crust tamper or a small metal measuring cup to press the crust that slumped down back up the sides of the pie plate. If this happens consistently when you make crumb crusts, try tamping them down more aggressively and/or refrigerating for 30 minutes before baking.

FRUIT PIE CRUMB TOPPING

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine flour and sugar. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over fruit pies. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.

CHERRY CRUMB PIE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water until smooth. Stir in pie filling. Pour into crust. , For topping, combine flour, oats and sugars in another small bowl; cut in the butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over filling. Bake at 375° for 35-40 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping is browned. Cool on a wire rack; refrigerate until chilled.

CRUMB CRUST

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter pie plate.
• Stir together all ingredients in a bowl and press evenly on bottom and up side of pie plate. Bake until crisp, 12 to 15 minutes, then cool on a rack to room temperature, about 45 minutes.