Ginger Ale Pie Crust

I make thick crusts, so this makes two pie bottoms and one (thick) lattice top. If you make thin crusts, it would make four shells.

For best results, refrigerate all ingredients prior to making the dough—even the flour.

Put the flour into a large bowl. Cut the lard into the flour and add salt. The pockets of fat make the flakiness in the crust. Use a pastry blender or 2 knives to cut in fat. Dough should still have some pea-sized pieces. Handle as little as possible with your hands.

Once the pieces of lard are small, add the cold ginger ale. Blend liquid in just until the dough begins to hold together. Overworking toughens the dough.

Divide dough into 3 or 4 pieces, depending on how thick or thin you like your pie crusts. Wrap each piece in a sheet of plastic wrap. Chill the dough for 30 minutes for easier rolling.

Preheat oven to 375ºF then roll out the dough. Rolling out the dough between two sheets of parchment paper makes for a cleaner kitchen, but you can always roll it out on a floured surface. (I keep my wooden rolling pin in the freezer at all times too.) Put the dough into your pie plates.

I’ve heard that chilling the dough in the pie plate before baking helps it from shrinking, so that’s what I do. (This is why I have the prep time set at 1 hour.)

Baked alone at 375ºF, it takes about 12-15 minutes. If there is a filling, bake for about 30 minutes. To keep from burning the edges, use the foil method. (Put foil around the edges and remove about ten minutes before the cooking time is done, so they can get golden).