I have been on quite the pie making journey for the last year in particular and have finally settled on my absolute favorite pie crust, so I thought I should share it with you all. My go-to used to be Crisco’s classic pie crust.
I discovered all butter crust had a nicer flavor, but was much heavier, less flaky than Crisco.
My solution? Half and half, made in the food processor, and it’s perfect every single time. It’s pliable, flaky, easy to work with and cut out, easy to make, and full of flavor.
Biggest tips: Keep your ingredients cold. Don’t overwork the dough, and above all, brush your crust with an egg wash and dust it with sugar before baking for that golden top!
Ingredients
(makes one double crust pie)
1/2 cup very cold butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup Crisco vegetable shortening
2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons ice water
Directions:
Place your butter and shortening into a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the salt and flour to the mixture. Place the lid on the food processor and pulse about 6 times until the mixture has coarse, pea sized crumbs. Add 1/3 cup of water and pulse 2-3 more times. Add last two tablespoons of water and pulse 2-3 more times again.
Remove from the food processor, divide into two even disks, and roll out.
Enjoy!
Rumbly in my Tumbly 
This is exactly the same recipe I use! And I came to it the same way, right down to using my food processor. I have been very pleased with the result. Bake on!
Your pies are beautiful! I am committed to using lard, vinegar, an egg, and some water, perfect for me each time.
How do you keep your cut out work from over browning, especially on pumpkin pies.
Hi Stella- I use a pie crust shield if my crusts start getting too dark, which is rare because I usually bake pies at 375 F. For pumpkin pies, sometimes (like with my turkey or my “Oh, Hey boo pie) I bake the decorations separately on a cookie sheet until golden. If they are placed directly on the pie (like the ghosts) I usually find that the liquid from the filling keeps them from getting brown ENOUGH. Hope that helps!