Christmas Baking: Cream Pie in a Candy Cane Pie Crust

A Special Holiday Recipe

M.S. Beltran
M.S. Beltran, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Dec 10, 2010 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."
Candy canes are practically synonymous with Christmas. Try this candy cane pie crust to give a special holiday flair to your favorite cream pie recipe.
Category
Desserts
Cuisine
American
Main Ingredients
Baking
Occasion
Winter Holidays
Prep Time
 30 min
Cook Time
 30 min
Total Time
1 hrs  

Ingredients

Serves 8
1 cup All Purpose Flour
Two 1/2-oz (regular size), or 4 minis Candy canes
3 tbsp Vegetable shortening
3 tbsp Sweet Cream Butter
2 to 4 tbsp Water
small pinch Salt
1 box Favorite pudding for pie filling, prepared and chilled
garnish Whipped cream (optional)
Print Recipe

Directions for Christmas Baking: Cream Pie in a Candy Cane Pie Crust

1
Preparation
Chill the flour, bowl and water in the freezer before starting the crust. Remove the wrappers from the candy canes and put them in a plastic food storage bag. Place the bag on a towel and fold it over to cover the bag. Pound the candy canes with a mallet, hammer or heavy frying pan to pulverize them. Make sure they are a fine dust to small chips.
2
Making the Pie Pastry
Mix the flour, salt and candy can dust in a bowl with a whisk until blended. Add the butter and shortening. Cut the butter and shortening into the dough with a pastry cutter until you have pea-sized crumbles or smaller. Add iced water, 1 tbsp at a time, mixing and tossing with a fork, until pastry reaches desired consistency. Form a disc with the crust, wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator to chill for a minimum of 2 hours or up to two days if you would like to get it done ahead of time.
3
Lining the Pan
Sprinkle flour on your work space, or lay out a pastry cloth or piece of plastic wrap. Put your pastry disc on the surface, then sprinkle the top of it with flour, or put another pastry cloth or piece of plastic wrap. Roll out the crust to 1/8 inch think, approximately 9 to 10 inches in diameter. Transfer to an 8 inch non-stick pie pan. Trim excess. If the crust is soft at this point, place the pie crust in the fridge for 5 to 10 minutes to chill it again. Crimp the edges and return it to the refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes.
4
Pre-Baking the Crust
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Make holes on the bottom of your pie crust with a fork for venting steam. put a piece of parchment paper into your crust and fill it with pie weights or dried beans. Place it in the oven and bake it for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove it from the oven and let it cool slightly. Carefully remove the parchment and weights. Return the crust to the oven an additional 10 to 20 minutes, until done and nicely browned. Set on a wire rack to cool thoroughly.
5
Filling and Serving
Spoon your prepared, chilled pudding filling into the crust. Chill the entire pie if you have time for best flavor and texture. Garnish with whipped cream if desired. A great way to serve is with a miniature candy cane, and sprinkled with some colored sugar crystals.
Tip
1) Preparation time does not take chilling or cooling time into account, but count on a minimum of 1 hour for chilling the bowl and ingredients, 2 hours for the dough, 15 minutes before baking and 2 hours cooling time after baking. 2) If you don't have a pastry cutter, cut the fat into the dough by cris-crossing two knives through them repeatedly until the desired consistency is reached.3) Use a non-stick pie pan to prevent the candy can bits from sticking when they are heated.4) Pudding fillings this candy cane pie crust goes great with: chocolate, vanilla, cheesecake, pumpkin, pistachio, banana cream, eggnog and white chocolate. 5) If you prefer cup pies, this recipe will make 3 to 4 cup pies.

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