added this 18 years ago
Grandma Woodward's Simple Pie Crust
What you need:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/4 cup water
What you do:
1. Cut shortening into flour with a fork or pastry blender.
2. Slowly add the water until the dough sticks together and isn't crumbly.
3. That's it! You might not need to use all of the water, and you can always add a little more flour if you accidentally add too much.
Source of recipe: This is my great-grandmother's recipe that I have been making my whole life. I have never found any pie crust that is as simple and versatile and stays together as well as this one. It works perfectly with any recipe that calls for crust, be it dessert pie, pot pie, quiche, whatever, it works!
Preparation Time:
5-10 minutes
Cooking Time:
Servings:
1
Recipe Category:
SO HOW'D IT GO?
This recipe is perfect. I used Earth Balance shortening. I made both tarts (mini pie maker) and full-sized pies with this recipe.
Made this with a pumpkin pie recipe form VegWeb and it was flawless. I did substitute Earth Balance for the shortening and it was still fabulous. Great recipe.
I finally made a great pie crust - thanks for this easy recipe! I iced the water and didn't use the entire 1/4 cup. I also added a little bit of salt.
For those of you wondering about what happens after you mix everything up, here's my experience: I formed into a ball trying not to handle the dough very much, wrapped in plastic, and let rest in the fridge for 30 min. Rolled it out (between foil and plastic which helps immensely), fit into pie dish, made the edges purty, placed parchment paper inside the unbaked crust and filled with dry beans (if not using pie weights, prick bottom a gazillion time). Baked on 325 for 35-40 minutes, monitoring to make sure I didn't overcook. Learned today that cooking on a lower temp for longer (vs. 425 for 10-15 min) prevents the crust from shrinking. I highly recommend the slow/low method or your crust will just be wack. And you don't want that, right?
Note: Used for pumpkin pie
Ah! Thanks for this! I just made my first pie and it's looking wonderful.
This is the pie crust I always make! It's so easy to work with instead of rolling it I usually can just form it inside my pie pan and have a near instant perfect crust.
I was very satisfied with this pie crust! I added herbs (basil, garlic powder, sage, plus salt) because I was making a pot pie and it was great for that. I doubled the recipe for a double-crust pie. I should have brushed the top with oil before baking, though. when I make a fruit pie, I will probably add a bit of sugar to this. I used shortening because Crisco makes a trans-fat-free one now. I think Earth Balance has always had one.
I just wanted to add that I have experimented with making this recipe using non-hydrogenated vegan margarine in place of the vegetable shortening, and it works just as well.