Here’s my “fool-proof” recipe for a pie crust. This makes enough for a single-crust 9-inch pie.
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup margarine/lard/butter/crisco - as long as it’s a solid fat, you’re good to go, though which one you choose WILL affect the flavor (I usually use margarine)
3 Tbsp COLD water
Mix flour and salt together, and cut in the margarine (I use my hands) until it’s in small pieces. Add the smallest amount of water that you can until it holds together. Turn out onto a well-floured surface and pat it into a ball. Cut the ball in half, and stack one half on top of the other. Smoosh together. Cut the dough in half again, stack one half on top of the other and smoosh together. Repeat a few times. (You get a nice flaky texture this way.)
Roll out thin and carefully transfer to a pie plate. Trim the edges and shape as desired (this is the part I’m still working on - my pie crusts taste OK, but they always look rather funky). Fill and bake as directed for the pie.
Alright here it is! My apple pie crust! Since I didn’t get immediate responses from my knitting buds, I try-tried again and NAILED IT! So all of you who are whinning that you can’t make pie crust can whine NO MORE! DO YOU HEAR ME?!
The secret for me what that when I was cutting the hard butter into the flour and salt mixture, I was mixing too much so the crumbs were too small. You want the crumbs to still be a little chunky, like pea sized. GinnyG, you are right when you say to only touch it when you have to. My balls of dough (I made four pie crusts!:happydance:) did seem like they would fall apart when they were rolled out and I was tempted to mix it up and keep working it but I RESTRAINED myself and refridged it looking like it was going to crumble, but when I took it out to roll it out 20 min. later, it stayed together and rolled out nicely and made a beautiful pie crust. It was light and flaky. Does it look good?
So friends, be encouraged! Now who feels like making a pie crust?? I want to see yours!
Thanks for all the feedback, vinegar, cream cheese for pot pies…this is fun!
I was just going to say that Betty Crocker & I are close friends,…lol…and I don’t use anything BUT Butter Flavored Crisco Sticks when I bake pie crusts or cookies!!! Other than that, I follow the same basic recipe. I never have a problem.
