Easy Cornmeal Pie Crust Recipes

CORNMEAL CRUST

Steps:

• Whisk cornmeal with 1 1/2 cups cold water.
• In a medium saucepan, bring 2 1/2 cups water, salt, and pepper to a boil.
• Gradually stir in cornmeal mixture. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring often, until very thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat; stir in butter until melted.

VEGGIE POT PIE WITH CORNMEAL PIE CRUST

Steps:

• For the crust: Combine the flour, cornmeal, and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse just until it resembles coarse crumbs.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and 2 tablespoons ice water. With the processor running, drizzle in the yolk mixture. The dough should just come together. If it looks dry add more water, up to 4 tablespoons.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until it comes together; it will be stiffer than a regular pie crust because of the cornmeal. Divide into four pieces, press into discs, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• For the filling: Toss the potatoes, yam, parsnips, celery and mushrooms with 4 tablespoons oil.
• Season with salt and pepper and spread evenly on a baking sheet. Roast, tossing once halfway through, until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. You don't want to cook these all the way though since they will cook more in the pot pie. (They should be al dente, but starting to get some color.)
• Combine the flour and remaining 4 tablespoons oil in a saucepan over medium heat and cook until smooth and bubbly like pancake batter, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the mushroom broth. Simmer until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Season to taste and remove from the heat.
• Add the roasted veggies to the mushroom broth along with the peas, thyme, rosemary and sherry vinegar. Divide the filling among four 8-ounce ramekins.
• Remove the dough from the fridge and roll each into a 5-inch disc. Wet the rim each ramekin and lay a crust over the top. Poke each 5 or 6 times with a fork and place in the oven. Bake until the crust is golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.

EASY PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Place all ingredients in 9 inch pie pan. Stir together with fork. Pat mixture into bottom and up the sides of the pan. Poke holes in bottom and side of crust.
• Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until light brown. Use as directed in favorite pie recipe.

SPINACH QUICHE WITH CORNMEAL CRUST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• To make pastry, combine cornmeal, 3/4 cup flour, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Cut in shortening using a fork or pastry cutter until combined. Sprinkle water in while tossing with fork, and continue to stir lightly until mixture forms a ball. .
• Roll pastry out on lightly floured board or between two sheets of waxed paper. Fit loosely into a 9-inch pie pan, fluting edges.
• Spread spinach evenly over the bottom of the crust.
• Toss shredded cheese with 2 tablespoons flour. Evenly sprinkle cheese over spinach.
• Combine beaten eggs, milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, and nutmeg until well-blended (you can use the same bowl you used for the pastry). Pour over spinach and cheese.
• Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350°F and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and set in the middle. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Quiche can be served warm, room temperature or cold.

TOMATO PIE WITH CORNMEAL CRUST

Steps:

• Make the cornmeal crust: Combine the cornmeal, flour and salt in a food processor and pulse until combined. Add the shortening and pulse until the mixture resembles small peas. Add the cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse just until the mixture comes together and forms a dough. Shape the dough into a disc, then wrap with plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• For the filling: Meanwhile, arrange the tomatoes in a single layer on paper towel-lined baking sheets. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Let stand for 30 minutes to allow the water from the tomatoes to release, then pat the tomatoes dry with paper towels.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Roll out the dough out to an 11-inch circle and fit into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Fold the edges under and crimp the edges. Fill the pie crust with parchment paper and pie weights or dried beans. Bake on the bottom rack until the crust is browned and crisp, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, carefully lift out the parchment and weights and let cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
• Sprinkle the tomatoes with the House Seasoning. Layer a third of the tomatoes on the bottom of the crust and sprinkle with a third of the herbs. Top with half of the onion, half of the ham and 1/3 cup Pimiento Cheese. Repeat the layers once. Top with the remaining tomatoes, herbs and remaining 1/3 cup Pimiento Cheese. Bake on the bottom rack until the pie is golden brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let stand 20 minutes before slicing. Garnish with more fresh herbs, if desired.
• Stir together the garlic and onion powders, paprika, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Store in an airtight container.
• Add the Cheddars, cream cheese, pimientos and mayo to a bowl and mix together. Add the chives, garlic powder, cayenne, smoked paprika and salt and pepper and mix until thoroughly combined.

CORNBREAD TAMALE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Grease a 3-quart high-sided casserole dish with cooking spray. In a large skillet, saute the beef and onion over medium-high heat until the meat is brown and the onion translucent, about 10 minutes. Then add the beans, corn, tomato sauce, broth, bell pepper (if using), chili powder, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and teaspoon salt. In a small bowl whisk together the egg, milk and oil until combined. Whisk the milk mixture into the flour mixture until combined. Spread the meat mixture into the casserole dish and cover with the corn bread topping. The topping will disappear into the meat mixture but will rise during baking and form a layer of corn bread. Bake until the corn bread is brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

TAMALE PIE WITH CHEDDAR & CORNMEAL CRUST

Steps:

• Grease 13x9x2 baking dish.
• In a large skillet heat oil add the peppers and onions saute for 5 minutes.
• Add beef to pan mixing to crumble cooking about about 5 minutes.
• Stir in remaining ingredients plus 1/4 cup beer.
• Put into prepared pan and set aside.
• In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients, stir to mix well.
• In an other bowl, whisk yogurt,eggs,and oil to blend.
• Stir in 3/4 cup cheese, scallions and jalapeño.
• Pour yogurt mixture over the cornmeal mixture and stir just till blended.
• Top the filling with crust mixture.
• Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and bake for 30 minutes.

CORNMEAL CRUST

Steps:

• Prepare the butter and lard, if using. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch (12-mm) cubes (a bench scraper is perfect for this, but a sharp knife works well too), and cut the lard into small pieces. Return them to the fridge to cool.
• In a liquid measuring cup, stir together the milk and vinegar. Refrigerate the mixture until ready to use.
• On a clean flat surface or in a large shallow bowl, toss the flour, cornmeal, cornstarch, sugar, and salt together lightly to blend. Add the butter and lard (if using) to the dry ingredients and, using the tool of your choice, cut the fat into the flour with speed and patience, until the fat has been reduced to small pea-sized chunks. Try to use a straight up-and-down motion, as the more you press on the flour the more tough gluten will develop. Avoid using your fingers, as the heat from your hands will melt the fat and further encourage gluten development. Unlike with pasta or bread, gluten is the enemy of pie dough, so be gentle, and be quick!
• Once your fat has been cut down to size, spread your mixture out to expose as much surface area as possible. Gently drizzle about half of your milk mixture over the flour, trying to cover as wide an area as you can. Using bench scrapers or a large spoon, lightly toss the flour over the liquid, then spread everything out again, and repeat the process with the second half of the liquid.
• You should now have a dough that will just hold together when pressed against the bowl, with visible little chunks of butter. If you need to add more liquid to bind it, do so with more cold milk, adding a tablespoon at a time until you reach the right texture. It's not an exact science, as everything from the humidity in the air to the dryness of your flour will affect the consistency of your dough.
• Once you've reached your goal, cover the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour. The dough can be kept in the fridge for up to 1 week, well wrapped, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

CORNMEAL PIE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add corn syrup, milk and vanilla; mix well. Fold in cornmeal and flour. Pour into pastry shells. , Bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Reduce heat to 300°. Bake 20-25 minutes longer or until set (cover edges with foil during the last 15 minutes to prevent overbrowning if necessary). Cool on a wire rack. Garnish with whipped cream if desired. Refrigerate leftovers.

CORNMEAL PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Combine cornmeal, flour and 1 tsp salt in a bowl.
• Cut in shortening.
• In a separate bowl, beat together egg and 1/4 cup water.
• Add to cornmeal mixture.
• Press into 9 inch pie plate to form crust.
• Use in place of regular pie crust.