Simple and Crumbly Pie Crust

It is pie season! Everywhere I turn I see these amazing pies, and they make me want to go home, strap on my checkered apron and bake a thousand different type of pies and then share them with my friendly neighbors. Well, that’s not going to happen anytime soon, especially because I never made anything but apple pie. Yeah…

But tonight, I thought I would give pies a go after seeing this strawberry pie which really looks amazing. So, here is what I came up with for the crust. The rest of the pie will come tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Here is what you need:

• 100g coconut oil at room temperature (use deodorized if you don’t want the coconut taste)
• 100g icing sugar
• 1 tbs chia seeds + 3 tbs water, mixed together to form a ‘chia egg’
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 pinch of salt
• 250g gluten free flour
• oil for the pan

Here is what you do:

1. In a large bowl, mix together the coconut oil and icing sugar until you reach a play-doh consistency. This will take a while, so don’t be afraid to get in there with your wooden spoon!
2. Once smooth, add the chia egg and vanilla and mix until well combined.
3. Place the flour and salt in a sieve and dust over your mixture. Again, mix everything together until you get a crumbly dough that stays together when pressed.
4. Oil you pie pan. I used my spring form pan.
5. Press in the crust little bit by little bit. This is not a crust that you want to roll: you want to construct your pie crust little by little. Press with a flat bottom glass to even out.
6. Place some pie weights or some dry beans on top of your crust to help it stay flat during cooking and place in your oven set at 350F (180C) for 15 minutes. The edges of your crust should be slightly golden.

This is the perfect crust for fresh fruit pies: crumbly, soft and not overly sweet, it will really let your filling shine. The chia seeds give this crust a nice crunch which is unexpected, but very fun and yummy. I’m planning something special for this one tomorrow so make sure to check in!