No Fuss Pie Crust

This is my go-to pie crust recipe for everything from apple pie to turkey pot pie.  It’s very simple and comes out great every time.  This recipe will yield a double crust for a 9″ pie pan.

Now, there are a couple of ground rules when it comes to pie crust.

1.  Touch the dough as little as possible.  I use a pastry cutter.  I highly recommend getting one.  They aren’t expensive.

2.  Cold ingredients = flaky crust.  If we were using butter, that would mean cold butter.  Since we’re using shortening, that means ice water.  Go ahead and fill a cup with ice water ahead of time so the water is nice and cold when you’re ready to use it.

No Fuss Pie Crust
2 c. All Purpose Flour
1 tsp salt
2/3 c. shortening
6 Tbsp ice water

Sift the flour and salt together into a large mixing bowl.

Cut half of the shortening into the flour (1/3 c.) until it resembles course corn meal.  There shouldn’t be any noticeable clumps.

Cut in the other half of shortening (1/3 c.) until it resembles peas. You want the shortening to be well incorporated into the dough, but you don’t want it to be over mixed.

Now, add your ice water a little at a time. The recipe says 6 Tbsp, but I never measure it. I pour it in about 1-2 Tbsp at a time and work in with a fork (remember, avoid touching with your hands) until the dough just starts to come together.

When it just starts to hold together in a ball, you have enough water. In fact, a few crumbs may still linger. You don’t want your dough to be too wet, it’ll just be a mess to work with. If it does end up too wet, refrigerate it for a little while to firm it up before working with it.