Truly The Best Pie Crust Recipes

COUNTDOWN #1 BEST PIE CRUST EVER

Steps:

• Blend the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and shortening; pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Drizzle 4 tablespoons ice water over the mixture. Process just until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather the dough into a ball and flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic. Chill 1 hour. Use the dough with your favorite pie recipe.
• Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface into a 14-inch round. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch diameter glass pie dish. Fold the overhang under. Crimp the edges decoratively. Pierce the bottom of the crust all over with a fork. Freeze the crust for 15 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep frozen.)
• For recipes that call for a pre-baked pie crust: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line the crust with aluminum foil. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the weights and foil. Bake until golden and set, about 10 minutes. Cool. (Crust can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Let stand at room temperature.)

THE BEST PIE CRUST RECIPE

Steps:

• Whisk together flour and salt.
• Cut the lard into the flour with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the lard is pea sized lumps within the flour.
• In a 1 cup liquid measuring cup, combine the vinegar and beaten egg. Add enough ice water to bring it to one full cup of liquid.
• Gradually stir the liquid into the lard mixture, adding only enough liquid to make dough cling together.
• Gently gather the dough into a ball and divide into 6 equal portions.
• Wrap the portions and refrigerate for 15-30 minutes (if you are using right away) or freeze for future use.
• When you are ready to use and the dough has chilled for at least another 15 minutes, roll out each portion on a lightly floured surface. If the dough is sticking, chill again for another hour or two. The dough must be cold to be flaky!
• Transfer the prepared dough to pie plate.
• Trim and flute shells or crusts and bake according to your pie recipe. Yield: 3 9-inch double crust pies or 6 pie shells.

BUTTER FLAKY PIE CRUST

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water, a tablespoon at a time, until mixture forms a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
• Roll dough out to fit a 9 inch pie plate. Place crust in pie plate. Press the dough evenly into the bottom and sides of the pie plate.