Rhubarb Crumble Pie

The making of this recipe began the moment I saw the Sister Pie cookbook in my local bookstore. I had been following Sister Pie on Instagram and just dying to try something from their bakery, so I knew I just had to buy their book when I saw it. 

If you’re not familiar, Sister Pie is a bakery in Detroit’s West Village that celebrates the bountiful harvest of Michigan. I love Sister Pie because they’re positive, uplifting (their Instagram dance videos are absolutely choice) and try to give back to the planet. They follow the “people, planet, profit” method of sustainability. This is a common strategy for folks in the business of being eco-friendly. The people, planet, profit method emphasizes creating social, economic and environmental benefits through money-saving and community-building sustainability initiatives.  

On top of this sustainability mindset, Sister Pie makes some gorgeous and dang yummy pies. The crust in this recipe is from the Sister Pie book, while the filling and topping are mish mashes of various other pies I’ve made throughout the years. I like this pie recipe for its simplicity and its deliciousness. You probably have most of the ingredients on hand, and they taste just delightful together. The tart rhubarb is the perfect compliment to the touch of warmth and sweetness from the cardamom, coconut sugar and pecans. 

Let me know what you think of the recipe in the comments and don’t forget to follow the sustainability tips below! 

 Makes: One 9-inch pie

Time: 4 1/2 hours

Ingredients

Crust

• 1¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

• ½ teaspoon sugar

• ½ cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, chopped into small cubes

• 3 tablespoons ice cold water

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Filling

• 6 cups chopped rhubarb (about 6-8 stalks)

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 6 tablespoons flour

Topping

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup coconut sugar or granulated sugar

• 1/3 cup chopped pecans

• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom

• 6 tablespoons butter

Steps

Crust  

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt and whisk to combine. Place the cold chopped butter into the bowl and use your fingers to break down the butter into pea-sized pieces, being careful to keep the mixture cold. In a liquid measuring cup, mix together the water and ACV. Add the water mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Use your hands to form the mixture into a disk on a lightly floured counter. Wrap tightly in bees wrap, or a slightly damp tea towel and place in the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours or overnight. 

 Once your dough has chilled, preheat oven to 450 F. Lightly flour a clean countertop and place the dough on it. Use a rolling pin to whack/roll out the dough, keeping it as circular as you can, until it reaches about 12 inches in diameter. Gently pick up the dough and place it into a 9-inch pie pan. Use your fingers to press the dough against the bottom and edges of the pan. Tightly roll up the edges of the dough that are hanging over the sides of the pie pan. When you’ve rolled to the edge of the pan, use your fingers to shape the edges into a crimp pattern. Alternatively, you could fold/roll the crust into whatever pattern you see fit, letting your freak flag fly. Place the shaped crust in the freezer for about 15 minutes. 

 After 15 minutes, remove the crust from the freezer and place the crust (still inside the pie pan, of course) onto a baking sheet. Place a large sheet of parchment paper inside the crust and fill the parchment with dried rice or beans. This will ensure that your crust doesn't puff up in the oven. Bake the crust for 25-27 minutes, or until light golden brown on the edges. This is called a blind bake and it will help ward away any soggy pie bottoms.

Filling and Topping 

While the crust is baking, prepare your filling. Combine 1 cup sugar and 6 tablespoons flour in a large bowl. Remove 1/4 cup of the sugar mixture and set it aside. (After your pie comes out of the oven, you will place this in the bottom of the crust. This will help make the crust more crispy.) Add the rhubarb, chopped into 1-inch pieces, to the remaining sugar mixture and toss to combine. Set aside while you prepare your topping. 

 For the topping, stir together all ingredients except the butter in a medium bowl. Chop the butter into small pieces and then add, using your fingers again to break up the butter into smaller pieces until incorporated. 

Put it all together

Remove the beans or rice from your crust and immediately turn oven temperature down to 350 F. Sprinkle the reserved 1/4 cup of the sugar mixture onto the bottom of the crust. Then, pour in the rhubarb mixture and sprinkle the topping all over the top of the rhubarb. Bake for about 90-120 minutes, or until golden brown and the rhubarb juices are starting to bubble out and caramelize. If you can help it, let the pie cool for several hours before serving to allow the middle to firm up. Dig in, dolloping with ice cream, whipped cream or your topping of choice.

Sustainability tips

• Flours: I like to buy King Arthur brand flour because King Arthur Flour is a B Corp, which means that they're held to a high environmental and social standard. Alternatively, you could seek out a farmer who grows and mills flour locally. Buying locally can help connect you to your local food system and cut back on the miles your food has to travel. 

• Sugar: I like to use coconut sugar because it's easy to find fair trade varieties, but fair trade granulated sugar is another great option here. Read all about it in my sustainable cane sugars post!

• Butter: Since cows contribute a lot to climate change by releasing methane, I like to buy my dairy products from B Corps, which are held to really high environmental and social standards. You could also try out vegan dairy options if you're feeling adventurous. 

• Rhubarb: Your best option here is to grow the rhubarb yourself, but any local rhubarb is a great option. Be sure to make this recipe during the early summer, when rhubarb is in season. This way, your rhubarb won't have to travel far to get to you.

• Pecans: Buy local pecans if you can find them. If you don’t live in a pecan-growing area, feel free to substitute with your favorite local nut.