Pie Crust

Super important: Dice the butter into cubes and measure out the shortening. Place the butter and the shortening into the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture. It is vital that your butter, shortening and water be cold.

Place the flour, salt, and sugar in a medium-sized bowl. Mix together with a fork.

Add the cold butter and shortening. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter and shortening into the flour mixture until the butter is the size of peas.

In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, add 1/2 cup cold water and a few ice cubes.

Using a 1-tablespoon measuring spoon, drizzle 1 tablespoon of ice cold water over your flour mixture. Mix together the flour mixture and water with a fork. Repeat this process 5-7 more times, or until the dough can be formed into a ball.

Note: It is important that you add the water 1 tablespoon at a time. You don’t want your dough to be too wet; a little bit of water goes a long way.

Dump the dough onto a floured board and roll into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Cut the dough in half. Roll each piece on a well-floured board into a circle, rolling from the center to the edge, turning and flouring the dough to make sure it doesn’t stick to the board. Fold the dough in half, place in a pie pan, and unfold to fit the pan. Fill with your favorite pie filling. Top with the top crust. Follow the baking instructions (time and temperature) for your pie recipe.

Yields two 10-inch crusts.