Recipe: No-Fail Pie Crust

I give all the credit of this recipe to my mom and her junior high home economics class. As the story goes, she was in a group with three boys who were awesome in small motors class but couldn’t do a whole lot in the kitchen. This recipe was given to them so they could successfully complete their pie assignment. Years later, it’s still working its magic!

Here’s what you’ll need:

3 cups flour
1 1/4 cups shortening
1 large egg, beaten
5 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon salt

Using a pastry cutter or a fork, cut together the flour and shortening. (You can use butter instead of shortening, but I recommend the shortening.) Add the egg, water, and salt and continue to cut the ingredients together.

And that’s it! You’ll have enough dough to make two crusts, which is perfect for an apple pie or something with a top layer of crust. Divide the dough in two, shape them into discs, wrap them in plastic, and place them in the fridge or freezer until you decide to use them.

Once you’re ready to use your dough, let it thaw if it’s been in the freezer. If it’s only been in the fridge, you’ll be good to go. It actually helps if it’s just a little cold. Unwrap a disc and place it between two big pieces of plastic wrap to roll it out. This way nothing will stick to the counter or the rolling pin. You may have to press your belly up to the counter to hold down the plastic wrap. It’ll slide a lot.

Once your pie dough is at least as big as your pie pan, uncover just the top of your dough. Set your pan upside down on top of the dough.

Slide your hand underneath the dough and flip the whole thing over. With the plastic still on, press the dough into the pie pan. Then peel the plastic off.

Using a sharp knife, trim off the excess crust around the edges. You can now make pretty sides around your pie crust if you want.

And you’re finished! I recommend filling the pie crust with something truly delish. This crust goes well with lots of fillings, so fill to your heart’s content.

If it’s apple pie you desire, check in tomorrow when I’ll be posting my Mama’s Apple Pie recipe. Yum.

Enjoy!

Here’s an update (Feb 1, 2011) in case you want to bake your crust without filling it first. This will be the case if you make a cold pie filling like French silk or Blackberry Custard.

Once the crust is in the pie pan, poke holes in it with a fork and freeze it for 15 minutes. Then cover it with parchment paper or foil and fill at least half of the pan (on top of the foil) with pie weights or dried beans. Bake it at 375 for 25-30 minutes until the edges start to turn golden. Then remove the foil and beans or weights and bake the crust another 10-15 minutes. Let the crust cool completely before pouring in your filling.