This is it.  Years of making pie have landed me right here – my perfect pie crust recipe.  It gets rave reviews and results in a very light and delicate texture.

I feel like a sell-out because I have not converted to all butter, but it’s just not the same. I tried all butter, I tried lard and I even tried coconut oil.  But this combination delivers exactly what I want in a pie crust.

Best of Both Worlds Pie Dough

For one 9-inch pie crust (double if necessary)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 tsp salt

4 T shortening (Frozen!)

*You can do Spectrum organic palm oil shortening to feel a little better about this 

8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter (Frozen!)

1/4 cup ice water

1 teaspoon cider vinegar (just add to the water)

Place dry ingredients into food processor and pulse a few times to distribute the salt and sugar.  Scatter frozen cubes of butter and shortening on top of the flour.

Pulse in processor for about 1 second each time until the mixture looks like coarse meal.  You can take a knife and fluff it around to be sure no large chunks are under the blade.  This should be about 6-8 pulses.  Once the fat is cut in, add the ice water through the chute about a tablespoon at a time while you continue short pulses.  The mixture will not look like cookie dough – it will probably look a little crumbly.  Periodically check to see if the dough pinches together.  When the dough begins to hold together, turn it out onto saran wrap, form into a ball, wrap and press it into a disc.  If you did a double batch, separate the dough into two discs.  Refrigerate for an hour or up to two days.

TIP: cut the butter and shortening into small pieces and toss in freezer in a ziploc bag. I keep a couple of pre-cubed bags in the freezer during months when I’m making a lot of pie  so they are ready to go.