Sweets Recipes

Never Fail Piecrust

One of the few cooking classes I have ever taken was years ago--many, many years ago!--to learn how to make a perfect, perfectly easy pie crust. The recipe makes 4 single crusts, and freezes easily. Make one recipe and throw what you won't use right away into the freezer for later use. This recipe is so easy you will wonder why you ever purchased ready made pie crusts. 

One of the things I love about this recipe is how easily it goes together. When I took the class food processors hadn't been invented yet (told you it was a long time ago! Some of you weren't born yet...). If you don't have a food processor, a pastry cutter or two knives work just fine. As a matter of fact, pressing the fat into the flour mixture with your bare hands also works just fine. If you have a full sized food processor, you can throw this together in under 10 minutes. 

Ingredients: 
4 c flour
1 T sugar
1t salt
1 3/4 c fat (can be all of one or a combination of your choice: butter, lard, vegetable shortening; I prefer all butter or half butter and half lard. People write long essays about the benefits of each...)

 
1/2 c ice water (+ 2-4T as needed)
1 large egg
1T vinegar
 
Pulse dry ingredients in a food processor until fat is incorporated and no larger than small pea size (alternatively cut fat into flour with a pastry cutter, two knives or by pressing the fat into the flour with your bare hands)
 
Mix egg, ice water and vinegar together with a fork and mix into the dough until just able to form into a ball; add more ice water to make dough moist enough to just incorporate dry ingredients, but don't overmix!
 
Divide into 4 balls. Each weighs ~9.5 oz
Flatten into disks, wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate atleast 4 hours before using.
May be refrigerated for up to a week or frozen for up to 6 months.
 
Makes 4 individual crusts 
 
Whatever the recipe/fat content, a few principles apply:
Keep it cold; use butter, shortening or lard straight out of the refrigerator, and use ice water to moisten the dough
Don't overwork the dough. Mix just long enough to moisten evenly but not to develop any stretchy gluten
Let it rest. Don't skip the step of refrigerating for atleast 4 hours. Once you roll out the dough and fit it to the pan, chill for at least 15 minutes or an hour before adding the filling; the gluten will relax

Check out youtube videos about techniques for rolling out the dough and forming pretty edges. It's not hard, promise!