Here is the pie crust recipe given to me in 1995 at our first pastorate in Marquette, Michigan. This was long before we ever dreamed of our own business, David's Garden Seeds®. For all of my life, I had wanted to be able to make flaky, delicious pie crust. In Home Economics class when I was in Junior High School, the teacher said we had to use two knives to cut the dough when we mixed it, or we had to use a pastry cutter. She showed us how to use two knives. I never mastered the technique.
Fast forward many years later when David was pastoring his first church in Marquette in 1995. There was a lady at church who made delicious pies. (My pie crusts were like concrete blocks. They looked okay but you couldn't get a knife to go through them!) I cannot remember the lady's name but we had her and her husband over to our house for dinner. When she was finished eating, she got up, went over to my kitchen counter and started opening cabinet doors. I asked her what she was doing. She said she was going to find my flour and teach me how to make pie crust. I was pretty excited because her pie crusts were the best I had ever had.
She pulled out flour, salt, and Crisco. She said Butter Flavored Crisco was the best and I just happened to have some. She found a big bowl, some measuring cups and measuring spoons, my rolling pin and a fork. We were off...
It turns out, my knife cutting technique was the problem. I never got the Crisco and the flour mixed right by doing that. This lady put her hands into the flour and Crisco mix and it was perfection. Yes, wash your hands and use them to combine the flour and salt with the Crisco in your bowl. She made me do it. We made a pie and the crust was really good. I wrote everything down and now I no longer make bricks. I make actual tasty pies! Below is my pie crust recipe that has not failed me.
This recipe makes two crusts, enough for one pie with a bottom and top crust. If you want to make two pies at once, just double the recipe. That is usually what I do.
To make pie crust for one double crust pie, you will need:
To make pie crust for two double crust pies, you will need:
Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl and stir with a spoon so the salt is evenly distributed throughout the flour. Measure the Crisco and put it in the bowl with the flour. I take a butter knife and run it around the Crisco in the cup to help get it out. Then put some of the flour in the bowl on the top of the shortening. Put your hand on the flour that is on the shortening and begin to mix it together.
Once it is all mixed together, it is time to add the cold water. Do not mix it with your hand once the water is in the bowl. Use a fork now to mix the water in the dough. The dough will be kind of crumbly.
Once the water is mixed in, time to put a small amount of flour on your hands and combine all of the crumbly flour into one big ball. When it is one big ball, divide it into two balls. I normally double the recipe to make two pies, so I divide mine into four balls.
Flour the counter or cutting board. If you have a Pampered Chef pie crust measuring tool, use that as your board. Flour your rolling pin and roll each crust out so that it is thin and larger than your pie pan. Gently fold it in half and place it in your pie pan. Unfold and line the bottom of your pie pan.
Make and add your pie filling. Roll out your top crust. Fold it in half and place in the middle of your pie. Unfold and cover your filling. Then pinch the edges of the bottom and top crusts together with your thumb and first finger all the way around the pie. If there is extra crust hanging off the outside edge of the pinched crust, pull or cut it off.
At this point, I almost always sprinkle sugar on the top of the pie. Then I stick a fork into the crust three or four times so the steam can escape through the holes while the pie is baking.
I have a Pampered Chef crust protector that I place on the edge of the pie while baking. During the last ten minutes of baking, I remove it so the crust can brown. This prevents the crust edge from burning. If you don't have a crust protector, use foil around the edges.
I also bake my pies on a cookie sheet to prevent messes in my oven. Once in a while, your filling will bubble over and you will have a mess to clean up if you don't use a cookie sheet.
Each pie recipe will give you specific baking instructions.
Pull that pie out of the oven and let it cool.
You can use this pie crust recipe for any pie.
If you want to put a cold filling in it, place it in the pie pan and
pinch the edge of the crust to make it look pretty. Using a fork, prick
the crust all over the bottom to keep the crust from bubbling up and breaking. Bake it at 475 degrees Fahrenheit for
about 10 minutes. Let cool completely and then add your filling.
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