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.Very Versatile Cream Cheese Dough

Source of Recipe

From "Nathalie Dupree's Favorite Stories and Recipes"


Recipe Introduction

"This is a miracle dough, adapted from one of Rose Beranbaum's recipes in her book The Pastry Bible. It is most easily made in a food processor or mixer but can be made by hand. It is flaky and tender and browns beautifully. The cream cheese emulsifies, tenderizes, and is pretty indestructible. The only moment of trickiness is rolling out the dough, as it wants to stick and pull apart. This doesn't hurt the dough, as it can be pushed back together, but it is a bit alarming when it first happens. Rolling the dough between pieces of plastic wrap or in a large plastic bag eases the anxiety. The recipe can be easily doubled."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, preferably soft-wheat, divided
â—¦ ½ cup unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes and frozen
â—¦ 3 ounces cream cheese, cut into 4 pieces and chilled (not frozen)
â—¦ 1 large egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water, to glaze


Recipe

Before measuring, whisk flour in its container with a wire whisk or fork to lighten. Take a large spoon and scoop up the flour from the container and slide it into a dry measuring cup. When full, level off any excess flour with the back of a knife. Add 1 cup of the flour to the bowl of a food processor. Set aside remaining ½ cup flour for rolling out the dough.

Add the butter cubes to the food processor and pulse until the size of oatmeal or grits. Add the cream cheese pieces and pulse quickly until it becomes a lumpy dough. Scrape out the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap or onto a large plastic bag. Press dough into a smooth, flat disc about 8 inches in diameter. Move dough to a clean plastic bag or wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 5 days.

Roll out the pastry into a â…›-inch-thick round between two pieces of plastic wrap or in a large plastic bag. If sticky, sprinkle the surface with a bit of the remaining flour. If using a tart pan with removable bottom, surround the bottom and sides of the pan tightly with foil to prevent filling from leaking out while baking. Remove the top sheet of plastic wrap or slit the bag and flip dough into a pie or tart pan. Fit dough into the recesses of the pan by lifting gently and lightly pressing dough along the bottom and sides of pan. Remove second sheet of plastic wrap. Decorate edges as desired. Prick the bottoms and sides lightly with a fork. Chill 30 minutes or more, or freeze if desired.

When ready to use, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Crumple a piece of parchment, waxed paper, or aluminum foil; reopen, smooth out, and place into the piecrust. Fill with raw rice, beans, or pie weights and prebake 15 minutes, covering edges as necessary to prevent burning. A roasting bag, as used for roasting chicken, is an ideal substitute for the paper. It can be filled with rice and beans or weights, put on the crust, removed, and reused at a later time.

Remove crust from oven, scoop out rice and beans, remove paper, and brush bottom with egg glaze. Reduce the heat to 300 degrees and return to oven until completely baked, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from oven, cool on a rack, and fill as desired.

Makes 1 (9-inch) piecrust