Summertime in Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains means wildflowers. Hillsides and mountain meadows along the Bighorn Scenic Byway (aka U.S. Highway 14) are blanketed with a rainbow of colors, ranging from crimson to violet and everything in between. An occasional snow skiff peeking out from ridges at about 9,600 feet elevation always creates a stark contrast. If you’re wondering, late June through the end of July is peak wildflower season on Highway 14.
Wyoming wildflowers are simply Mother Nature’s art palette.
If you’re lucky you might even see a moose or twelve peeking out from behind a clump of willow bushes. (My personal best for moose sightings on this route is 31. I attribute this to eating piggy puffs, aka pork rinds, on that particular drive.)
I’m choosing to post this right now because wildflowers are no where in the near future for us in the Mid-South. It’s late January, which historically means snow, ice and closed schools. This year is particularly icy. Think sheets of the sparkling stuff and stranded drivers spun out on major highways across multiple states.
We’ve been hunkered down in the house for the past five days. When the flurries started falling, the fuzzy cuddle puddle was cozy and cute. Now its animal anarchy. Joe pow-pows the dogs in their snoots when they won’t get out of their bed, and invades every warm spot he can find. Rotten animal!
I’m speaking upcoming sunny weather and wildflowers into existence now, as well as summer peach pies like the ones my Aunt Vonnie makes!
Aunt Vonnie is my Grandma’s youngest sister. She’s a prolific baker, and story-teller, to say the least. (In this picture, she’s probably recalling one of Uncle R.’s antics, or something crazy their gray parrot Cracker mimicked.) Over the years, she’s decorated hundreds of birthday and wedding cakes, and hand-rolled thousands of pies of all types. Just ask my Pop! He raids her freezer for pies almost every time he visits!
Aunt Vonnie’s Pie Crust is a tried and true favorite. The dough contains an egg, which is different from most recipes. The egg acts as a binder, making the rolled dough easier to handle and less likely to break. She also uses white vinegar in her pie crust. White vinegar slows down the flour’s gluten development, helping keep the pastry flaky. It also keeps the dough from turning a funky gray color if not used immediately or frozen and thawed. Everything else in her recipe is standard pastry–flour, sugar, salt, water and shortening. Vonnie likes to use butter-flavored shortening, but plain works just as tasty!
This pie crust recipe works wherever you need it… pre-bake for a cream pie, use it in a fruit-filled double crusted version, or pour in the pumpkin! Aunt Vonnie rolls out six individual, paper-thin crusts from this one recipe. Mom and I can get four out of it.
Remember the frozen pie snatcher from earlier? Vonnie’s tip for freezing and reheating non-cream or custard pies is a good one too! Bake your pie as you normally would according to its directions and cool completely. Wrap the pie in both plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Freeze up to 3 months.
When you’re ready for a slice of something, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and put the frozen pie in. Once the oven reaches temperature, turn the oven off. Leave the pie in for at least 30 minutes, maybe a little longer, and Wha-la! Hot, fresh pie! Any way you slice it, this is our family’s go-to for pie crust! Thanks Auntie!
Aunt Vonnie’s Pie Crust
Over a thousand pies served…Aunt Vonnie’s Pie Crust is easy to make and even flakier to eat!
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 Single Pie Crusts 1x
Ingredients
For Pie Crust:
4 c. all-purpose flour
1 T. granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt (table, kosher or sea)
1–3/4 c. vegetable shortening*
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1/2 c. very cold water
1 T. white vinegar
Instructions
To Make Pie Crust:
Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Cut shortening into flour with a pastry cutter, two forks, or your hands until shortening is in pea-sized pieces. Add egg, water, and vinegar. Fold until evenly combined and form into a disk. Cut into 4 equal sized portions (2 double crust pies, or 4 single crust pies) . Based on pies you are making, roll dough out on a lightly floured surface about 1/4-inch thick.. Use according to pie recipe. If Blind Baking a single crust, see below.
To bake a double crust pie, roll one portion of dough into about a 14-inch circle. Place into the bottom of a pie pan. Fill according to recipe. Roll second dough portion as before. Cover filling with dough, or cut into lattice strips. Place dough pie into the refrigerator for 3o minutes or freezer for 15 minutes. Bake according to the pie recipe.
Unused dough portions can be wrapped individually in plastic wrap and kept in refrigerator for up to a week or froze for up to 3 months.
To Pre-bake (Blind Bake) Single Crust Pies:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Roll dough out, place into pie pan, and crimp edges. Place pie shell into the refrigerator for 30 minutes or freezer for 15 minutes. This allows the gluten to rest and prevent crust from slumping when it bakes. Remove pie from refrigerator. Line the pie shell with parchment paper, and fill with dry beans, granulated sugar, dried rice, or pie weights. Bake pie shell for about 15-20 minutes. Remove parchment and weights. Bake pie shell for another 14-17 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool and fill according to pie recipe.
Notes
*Aunt uses butter-flavored shortening in her’s. Regular shortening works well too.
IMNPB
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