Sour Cream Rhubarb Pie

This recipe came to me from my dear friend Margie. We became fast friends the day our family moved onto the block. You couldn’t ask for a better neighbor, and when I found out she was a keen baker I knew she was one for keeps! I think this may be my all-time favorite pie. The combination of sour cream, rhubarb and crumb topping is so good, it should be illegal.

• 1 Butter’s All Butter Pastry single crust pie (recipe follows)

• 1 1/4 cups sugar

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 2 large eggs

• 1 cup sour cream

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla

• 3 cups rhubarb (fresh or frozen), cut into 1/2-inch pieces 

Crumb Topping

• 1/3 cup sugar

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/4 cup butter, softened

You Will Need: (9-inch) pie dish

Before You Begin: Prepare Butter’s All Butter Pastry and follow the steps for making a single crust pie.

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream and vanilla, then add to the flour mixture.

3. Place the rhubarb in the prepared pie shell. Pour the egg and flour mixture evenly over the top.

4. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350°F and bake for 30 minutes more.

5. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the crumb topping and mix with a fork until crumbly.

6. Remove the pie from the oven and sprinkle the crumb topping over the top. Return to the oven to bake for another 15 minutes or until the topping is lightly browned.

7. Remove from the oven again and allow the pie to cool slightly before slicing.

Margie has frozen this baked pie. She tells me that once it is defrosted and warmed slightly in a 200°F oven, you would never know it had ever been frozen.

Butter’s All Butter Pastry
Makes: enough for 4 (9-inch) single crust pies or 2 (9-inch) double crust pies

This is the pastry I grew up on, but in those days my mom made it with shortening. Given the name of my bakery, I felt the need to change the recipe up a little! You can easily double this recipe and keep half in the freezer—it’s great to have the dough on hand for spur-of-the-moment pie cravings.

This dough is best made the day before you need it so it can chill overnight. You can store the dough wrapped tightly in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

• 5 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 cups butter, chilled and cut into 1-inch cubes

• 1 large egg

• 1 tablespoon white vinegar

• water

You Will Need: (9-inch) pie dish per pie, pastry cutter

Preparing the Dough

1. Place the flour and salt in a large bowl. Scatter the butter over the flour mixture. Use the pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture forms large pea-sized crumbs. You should still be able to recognize some of the butter.

2. Crack the egg into a liquid measuring cup and add the vinegar. Top with enough cold water to reach a 1-cup measure. Whisk until combined, then pour over the flour mixture.

3. Mix with a fork until the dough starts to pull together. Gently use your hands to finish mixing the dough until it comes together enough to shape. You should still see some butter bits throughout.

4. Shape the dough into four evenly sized disks about 1/2 inch thick each and wrap separately in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Making a Single Crust Pie

1. Use a rolling pin to roll one chilled disk of dough out to about 1/8 inch thick (about 11 inches in diameter, 2 inches larger than pie dish). Carefully fold into quarters and gently transfer to the pie dish. Unfold and press into place lightly.

2. Trim the dough with a knife, kitchen scissors or a metal bench scraper to leave about a 1-inch overhang over the edge of the dish. The best way to judge this is to trim the pastry at the point where it just touches the work surface. Roll and tuck the 1-inch overhang back under the edge of the pie shell.

You can either finish here and leave the edge plain, or you can pinch it into pleasing points as we do at the bakery (follow Step 3 below).

3. Use your index finger to push finger-sized sections of dough from the inside edge of the pie, out and over the edge of the pie dish. Use the index finger and thumb on your opposite hand to pinch each section into a point. Continue this process all around the edge of the pie shell until you end up where you began and, voilà, pleasing points!

Making a Double Crust Pie

1. Use a rolling pin to roll one chilled disk of dough out to about 1/8 inch thick (about 11 inches in diameter, 2 inches larger than pie dish). Carefully fold into quarters and gently transfer to the pie dish. Unfold and press into place lightly.

2. Trim the dough with a knife, kitchen scissors or metal bench scraper to leave about a 1/2-inch overhang over the edge of the dish.

3. Fill the pie with your chosen filling and dot with chilled butter as directed.

4. Repeat Step 1 with a second disk of dough and unfold on top of the pie filling, leaving about a 1-inch overhang over the edge of the dish.

5. Roll and tuck the dough edge back under the bottom edge of the pie shell. Seal the pie by pressing the tines of a fork all around the edge of the pie shell to create a simple, uniform pattern. Alternatively, finish it in pleasing points (follow Step 3 of making a single crust pie).