Perfect Pie Crust

A friend of mine pulled me aside at church tonight and asked me for my pie crust recipe.  I thought I would give it to you too.  It is quick, easy once you get the hang of it, and considerably less expensive and more tasty than  a store bought crust.

2 C all purpose flour
1 t salt
6 T butter
4 T shortening
1/4 - 1/2 C cold water

1.  sift together flour and salt
2.  cut in very cold butter and shortening to make a coarse, crumbly mixture
3.  add just enough ice cold water to bring dough together and form a ball
4.  split dough ball in half and make two discs.  Wrap each in plastic wrap and chill for 20-30 minutes.
5.  flour counter top and roll out each disc to 12" round of uniform thickness
6.  line your pie plate with crust, fill, top with second crust and bake as indicated according to your filling.  Most of my recipes call for a 425 degree oven for 10-12 minutes and 375 for the remainder of the cooking time.

Tips:

Don't skip the sift.  I don't sift anything I don't need to.  I don't sift for cookies, cakes, quick breads, yeast breads...or really anything else at all but pie crust and biscuits.  In both cases the sifting has a big impact on the texture.  It is worth the step.  Next, refrigerate your shortening for this recipe.  Our butter is always cold but most of us store shortening in the pantry.  You want it nice and cold for pie crust.  Finally, get a mixing bowl of ice water and dip out your 1/2 C of water from there.  Cold tap water is not cold enough.

I use this crust for sweet and savory pies.  Don't add sugar or anything else to the dough.  If you want a different flavor or appearance for different pies make your changes to the top crust only.  You might consider brushing it with milk or an egg wash, topping with kosher salt or crystallized sugar,  topping with shredded cheeses, sprinkling a cinnamon and brown sugar mixture...whatever works for you.  My favorite?  Completely plain.