Blood Orange–Buttermilk Pie

In-season citrus shines in this beautiful pie.

Blood Orange– Buttermilk Pie
 
Makes 1 (9-inch) pie
Ingredients
  • 1 disk Pie Dough (recipe follows)
  • 1½ cups sugar
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
  • 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon blood orange zest
  • ¾ cup whole buttermilk, room temperature
  • Garnish: sweetened whipped cream, blood orange segments
Pie Dough
  • 6 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 2 cups cold unsalted butter, diced
  • ¾ cup ice water
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400°. Place oven rack in bottom third of oven.
  2. On a lightly floured surface, roll Pie Dough into a 12-inch circle with ⅛-inch thickness. Transfer to a 9-inch pie plate, pressing into bottom and up sides. Trim excess dough to ½ inch beyond edge of plate, if needed. Fold edges under, and crimp as desired. Freeze for 15 minutes.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, flour, and salt. Whisk in eggs, melted butter, vanilla, and zest until combined. Slowly add buttermilk, whisking until just combined. Pour into prepared crust.
  4. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°. Bake until edges are set but center still has a slight jiggle and an instant-read thermometer inserted in center registers 200°, about 35 minutes more. The pie will be puffed when removed from oven and then deflate slightly as it cools.
  5. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve at room temperature or chilled. Garnish with whipped cream and orange segments, if desired.
Pie Dough
  1. In the work bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar; pulse to combine.
  2. Add cold butter; pulse until mixture resembles large crumbs. Pour ¾ cup ice water in a slow, steady stream and pulse until dough comes together.
  3. Turn out dough onto a clean surface and form into a large disk. Cut disk into 4 even pieces and shape into 4 smaller disks. Wrap individually in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days. (We suggest chilling overnight.)
  4. To roll out the dough, let dough stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Lightly dust a work surface with flour, and lightly dust a rolling pin, if desired. Roll out the dough to about ¼-inch thickness, rotating it as you work to help prevent it from sticking. To transfer the dough to the pie plate, gently roll it up, wrapping it around the pin, and then unfurl it into the pie plate.
Notes
TO PREPARE THE EDGE FOR CRIMPING:

On a single-crust pie, use scissors to trim away the excess dough, leaving about ½-inch excess all the way around the outside edge of the pie plate. Tuck this excess dough under, pressing gently to make it flush with the edge of the pie plate. On a double-crust pie, gently press the top and bottom crusts together to flatten the dough slightly and then trim the excess and tuck under as directed for a single-crust pie.

TO PAR-BAKE THE DOUGH:

Dock the crimped single-crust pie dough with a fork and chill well (at least 30 minutes). Cut a square of parchment paper slightly larger than the diameter of a pie plate and press it into the top of the piecrust. Fill with pie weights to the top inner rim of the pie plate. Bake at 425° until the edges begin to lightly brown, 15 to 17 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and pie weights. Bake until the lower portion of the crust appears dry and set, 2 to 3 minutes more. Let cool completely before filling.

TO BLIND-BAKE THE DOUGH:

Follow the instructions for par-baking but bake until the piecrust is fully golden brown. After removing the pie weights, bake for 5 to 7 minutes more. Let cool completely before filling.

MAKE AHEAD AND STORAGE:

The tightly wrapped disk of dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Wrapped in a layer of plastic wrap and then a layer of foil, the dough can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.