For most pies, I prefer the flaky texture of a shortening pie crust.
It is the pie crust that I first learned to make from my mother, and it holds many memories and traditions. In my opinion, shortening crusts are easier to work with than butter crust, due to its melting point.
What is shortening? According to Epicurious “Vegetable shortening is a solid, hydrogenated fat made from vegetable oil, such as palm, cottonseed, or soybean oil. It became popular in the 1950s as a cheap, shelf-stable alternative to butter. “
My favorite is Crisco brand and the only one my family uses, and I purchase the all-vegetable pre-measured baking sticks.
Over the years, we’ve adapted the original Betty Crocker recipe, to make it our own. Let me know what you think!
Recipe for a 9in pie plate (I like to have extra dough)
Ingredients:
1 cup Crisco vegetable shortening
2 and 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons ice water
You can make this recipe in your food processor or cut the shortening by hand with a pastry cutter. I prefer the traditional way. I will post the food processor with pictures in a future recipe post.
1. In a large bowl combine the vegetable shortening, salt and flour. Using a pastry cutter, mix the shortening and other ingredients until slightly smaller than the size of peas.
2. Add your ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Pay attention to the dough texture and adjust the amount of water as needed. The dough should start to form into ball after the addition of the water.
3. Wrap dough in wax paper and place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes
4. Remove dough from refrigerator and roll out as desired.
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