Flaky Pie Crust

The most important tip I can give you about making scratch pie crusts is to use all cold ingredients! I even pre-chill the bowl I am going to mix everything in. If I am using the cuisinart, I chill the metal blade. I use the butter and shortening right out of the fridge. As the crust bakes, the cold pieces of butter and shortening, mixed in with the flour, create little pockets and form the flaky crust! This is why you want to chill the pastry before rolling it out. And fill it and bake it as quickly as possible.

Second tip - when you are rolling out your pie crusts, after the pastry has chilled in the fridge, place it between two pieces of waxed paper. This keeps it from sticking to your rolling pin. And the bottom piece makes it easy to transfer from counter to pie tin!

**For a 2 crust pie (one with a top and a bottom, like my Caramel Apple Pie) you'll have to double this recipe!**

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shortening, chilled
1/4 cup butter, chilled
3 tablespoons ICE water

Directions
Whisk the flour and salt together in a medium size bowl.
With a pastry blender, cut in the cold shortening and butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Drizzle 2 to 3 tablespoons ice water over flour mixture.
Toss mixture with a fork to moisten, adding more water a few drops at a time until the dough comes together.
Gently gather dough particles together into a ball.
Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes before rolling.
Roll out dough, and put in a pie plate.
Fill with desired filling and bake.