Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

There are many different schools of thought when it comes to pie crusts. The most popular:

1. Crust made with butter
2. Crust made with shortening
3. Crust made with lard
4. Store-bought pre-made crusts

All cellulite references aside, I don't typically have lard in the house, so cancel out that one. Despite the convenience and simplicity of the store-bought crusts, I'm stubborn and always take the long road. So that leaves butter and shortening. I typically make mine with butter, however I've had a tub of Crisco sitting in my cupboard ever since cake decorating class and I thought, hey, let's see what kind of pie crust it makes.

So I made the pie crust right off of the Crisco label for my strawberry rhubarb pie. The result? I'm torn. Butter = more flavor, but a softer cookie-like texture. Shortening = better crackly texture, but no flavor depth. Shortening gets bonus points for being easier to work with, too. However, old habits die hard, and I just can't get into the idea of factory food fat (say that five times fast). I think I'll be a butter crust gal for a long time.

What kind of pie crust do you make?

	a. Butter
	b. Shortening
	c. Lard
	d. Store-bought crust, baby
	e. What? Me make pie?

Show results

Regardless of what kind of crust you use, I hope you make this. Really. It's just so so good.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

For crust:
1 and 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup cold butter or Crisco shortening
1 teaspoon salt
A splash of apple cider vinegar (optional)
Cold water

For filling:
4 cups chopped rhubarb (or enough to fill the pie plate)
2 cups sliced strawberries
Sugar to coat fruit (between 1/2 and 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup flour

Prepare crust by mixing flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter/Crisco using a pastry blender or a couple of knives until the flour is crumbly in small pieces. Add splash of vinegar and a couple tablespoons cold water, mixing with fork. Continue adding water a spoonful at a time until dough comes together. Shape dough into a ball. If using butter, refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll out dough between two sheets of floured wax paper and fit to pie plate, reserving some additional dough for top.

Prepare filling by mixing rhubarb and strawberries in large bowl. Sprinkle with sugar and flour and stir to coat. Spread fruit into prepared unbaked crust and top with strips of interwoven crust dough. Place a piece of foil or a thin baking sheet on the bottom rack of your oven to catch any pie juice spills. Bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour or until golden and bubbly in the middle.