Step-by-step guide: How to make the perfect Thanksgiving pie

Don't let dessert be an afterthought. With a few ingredients and a little advanced planning, you can turn out a delicious homemade pie that tastes like it came from one of the best in the business. (Courtesy Bayou Bakery)

After fretting over the turkey, struggling with the stuffing and grappling over the gravy, dessert may be the last thing on your mind when it comes to planning and preparing a Thanksgiving feast. But don’t let it be an afterthought. With a few ingredients and a little advanced planning, you can turn out a delicious homemade pie that tastes like it came from one of the best in the business. And that’s because it did. David Guas, chef and owner of , shares his favorite聽pie crust recipe and a step-by-step guide on how to pull it all together. He also has some helpful tips so you can get the majority of the work out of the way now and relax on Thanksgiving morning. Scroll through the arrows on the right to get started. (Photo courtesy Bayou Bakery)

Photo courtesy Bayou Bakery

David Guas is the chef and owner behind Bayou Bakery in Arlington, Virginia. (Scott Suchman)

Not a day goes by where Chef David Guas and his team aren鈥檛 busy baking up some kind of pastry, praline or pie to supply Bayou Bakery鈥檚 two D.C. area locations. And over the years, he鈥檚 developed a fail-safe recipe for a flaky and buttery pie crust. Sure, you can easily pick up a crust in the freezer section of most supermarkets, but Guas says if you have a little extra time 鈥� even the week before Thanksgiving 鈥� it鈥檚 definitely worth it to make a homemade version. His uses cream cheese instead of Crisco, and can be made in advance in various stages and frozen until it鈥檚 time to bake the final product.聽 (Photo courtesy Scott Suchman)

Photo courtesy Scott Suchman

Step 1: Mix the ingredients in the food processor Guas says the key to making a perfect pie crust is to use cold ingredients. He even likes to measure out his flour and stick it in the fridge for a few hours before it鈥檚 time to bake. Cold ingredients ensures the聽butter will retain its structure throughout the pie-making process. Start by throwing all of the dry ingredients 鈥� flour, salt and baking powder 鈥� into a food processor and pulse it a few times. 鈥淎nytime you add dry ingredients, you want to make sure they鈥檙e married before you start adding non-dry ingredients,鈥� Guas says. Then, slowly add the cold, cubed butter and cream cheese (pinches at a time), stopping to pulse the ingredients a few times as they are added. Do not over-blend the ingredients. Guas says to look for a consistency that resembles pea-sized pieces of butter and cream cheese. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

草莓传媒/Rachel Nania

Step 1: Mix the ingredients in the food processor Why the cream cheese? 鈥淚t is one of those ingredients we use to set ourselves apart from other doughs. It just really adds a nice flakiness and just a different texture to a more traditional crust,鈥� Guas says. After the cream cheese and butter are added, add the ice water to the mix. Guas says the water should literally be ice cold 鈥� just be sure to remove the ice from your chilled water before throwing it into the food processor. Add the cider vinegar as well, and pulse a few more times until the ingredients come together. 鈥淲e鈥檙e just pulsing, pulsing, pulsing. You never want to turn it on, walk away from it because it happens in a split second,鈥� Guas says. The best way to know when it鈥檚 done mixing:聽鈥淚f you pinch it and it鈥檚 together, you鈥檙e done,鈥� Guas says. Again, you鈥檙e looking for a final consistency that resembles pea-sized pieces of cream cheese and butter in the dough. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

草莓传媒/Rachel Nania

Step 2: Dump the dough聽 Dump the dough directly from the food processor on to a cool work surface. Guas says stainless steel, marble and granite counters are the most ideal for working pie dough. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

草莓传媒/Rachel Nania

Step 3: Bring the dough together聽 Pie-making shares one similarity with surfing (well, ): The best thing you can do is to “do less.” Once the dough is on your work counter, you want to minimize the number of times your hands come in contact with the dough.聽鈥淭he key is to just kind of push everything together. You don鈥檛 want to knead this,” Guas says. “We just gently pulled everything together in a pile and then gently pressed it down.” (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

草莓传媒/Rachel Nania

聽Step 4: Wrap and chill聽 Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for a minimum of one hour. If you’re working ahead, you can also freeze the dough at this stage, and pull it out closer to when it’s time to bake the pies. Guas says to just make sure to wrap the dough airtight before freezing. To thaw the dough at this stage, remove it from the freezer about a day before you need to use it and let it sit in the fridge. Do not run it under cold water or microwave the dough to defrost it for use. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

草莓传媒/Rachel Nania

聽Step 5: Flatten and roll聽 Remove your chilled dough from the refrigerator and put it on a lightly floured surface. Be careful not to dust your work space too heavily with flour, since it will alter the recipe. Then, using a rolling pin, hit the dough to flatten it down. 鈥淚f you try to roll it and put that amount of pressure on a very very very cold block of dough, it will crack on you,” Guas says. Plus, it’s an excellent way to work out some holiday stress.聽鈥淎 glass of wine and working pie dough can go a long way to get you through the holidays,” Guas says. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

草莓传媒/Rachel Nania

Step 5: Flatten and roll聽 Once the dough is flattened, you can start to roll it out. Guas says the best way to roll your dough is to start in the middle and then roll out in all four directions.聽鈥淵ou鈥檙e starting in the center and then going north, south, east, west,” he says, adding that you should always come back to the middle before rolling in a different direction. This will keep the pie in an even and easy-to-work-with shape. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

草莓传媒/Rachel Nania

Step 6: Cut the dough To make sure the crust will fit your pie pan, turn your pie plate over on top of the dough and cut around it, leaving about an inch of extra space. This extra dough will be used to form the crimped crust. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

草莓传媒/Rachel Nania

Step 7: Transfer the dough to the pie plate When it comes to transferring the dough from your work surface to your pie plate, the best tool at your disposal is your rolling pin. Guas says to roll your dough onto your pin. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

草莓传媒/Rachel Nania

Step 7: Transfer the dough to the pie plate Then roll it off the pin, directly onto your pie plate. No sticking, no warm hands and no torn dough. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

草莓传媒/Rachel Nania

Step 8: Shape the crust聽 Fold the excess dough under, around the pie. You’ll later use this extra dough to crimp the pie. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

草莓传媒/Rachel Nania

Step 8: Shape the crust聽 Dip your left thumb and index finger in flour, as well as your right thumb. These fingers are now your “pie crimping fingers.” (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

草莓传媒/Rachel Nania

Step 8: Shape the crust聽 Create a crimp around the outer edges of the pie, using your “crimping fingers” and the excess dough that’s folded under. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

草莓传媒/Rachel Nania

Step 8: Shape the crust聽 Guas says there are many ways to shape the crust of a pie, but he likes the big crimps for added texture. Also press the crust down on the bottom of the pan to make sure it’s all the way on the pan’s floor. Now, it’s time to chill the pie again聽鈥� this time, in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes. If it went from this stage directly into the oven, Guas says it would shrink and “wouldn’t be a very consistent crust.” 鈥淭his is allowing it to set or settle and to relax,” he says. You can also freeze your pie crusts several days in advance at this point, and stack the formed shells in the freezer in airtight wrapping. Pull the crusts out and thaw them in the refrigerator a day or two before baking. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

草莓传媒/Rachel Nania

Step 9: Parbake聽 Next, it’s time to parbake the crust 鈥� a step Guas takes to ensure the crust on the bottom of the pie is not too doughy. He weighs the cold crust down with pie weights and bakes it in a 325-degree oven for 15 to 18 minutes until the crust is golden and retains its structure. You can also freeze your crust after the parbake, completely reducing your day-of baking to simply filling the pie and throwing it in the oven for another few minutes. Similar to the previous stage, wrap your parbaked pie crusts in the pan airtight, and stack them in your freezer. Thaw the crusts in the refrigerator a few days before the final bake. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

草莓传媒/Rachel Nania

聽Step 10: Fill the pie and bake it聽 After the crust cools from the parbake, fill the pie crust with your filling of choice. One of Guas’ favorites is pecan pie. He places his pecans in the parbaked crust first and then adds the filling. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

草莓传媒/Rachel Nania

Step 10: Fill the pie and bake it聽 After the crust cools from the parbake, fill the pie crust with your filling of choice. One of Guas’ favorites is pecan pie. He places his pecans in the parbaked crust first and then adds the filling. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

草莓传媒/Rachel Nania

Step 10: Fill the pie and bake it聽 Guas likes to bake his pies a little darker than golden brown. He says it gives the crust and the filling a chance to caramelize, and even changes the flavor of the butter. Of course, there’s a fine line between baking a pie a bit past brown and burning a pie. Keep an eye on it throughout the baking process to make sure it doesn’t bake for too long. If you don’t have time to bake at home, Guas is happy to do it for you. . (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

草莓传媒/Rachel Nania

Recipe: David Guas’ Cream Cheese Pie Crust
Yield聽1 crust for a 9- or 10-inch pie聽 Ingredients: 6 ounces unsalted butter, cold and cubed
6 ounces all-purpose flour (plus about 2 tablespoons for dusting)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 ounces cream cheese
3-4 tablespoons ice water
1.5 teaspoons cider vinegar Procedure: Place flour, salt and baking powder in food processor. Process dry ingredients for 15 seconds to blend. Then add cold, cubed butter and cream cheese, pinching off small pieces of cream cheese by hand and sprinkling them into the flour mixture. Pulse about 3 to 4 times checking for consistency (pieces should be about the size of peas.) Remove top and add cold water and vinegar, pulse until dough comes together, about 4 to 5 times at most. (Note: The dough still may appear slightly dry, but use caution to leave it as is and not overwork the dough.) Dump contents out onto a clean dry work surface. Press any dry mixture together by hand. Flatten out dough without kneading. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and refrigerator for a minimum of one hour. Remove from the refrigerator after an hour and place on a dry work surface that has been dusted with the extra flour. Roll out to about an 1/8-inch thickness, then roll the dough onto your rolling pin. Transfer over the top of your pie pan and unroll dough into the pan. Trim excess dough and choose any crimping style your prefer. After crimping, use a fork to dock the base of the dough by pressing down about 10-15 times. Then place the formed pie crust into the freezer for 20-30 minutes. After removing from the freezer, blind bake the crust with aluminum foil and pie weights for 15-18 minutes at 325 degrees Fahrenheit. After blind baking, remove the pie weights, allow to cool and begin prepping the filling. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

草莓传媒/Rachel Nania