Bake Me A Pie

When I first met Jason, it was a couple weeks shy of Thanksgiving. From that holiday forward I’ve heard about his mother’s amazing homemade pies. A couple years into our relationship when I finally tasted a slice for myself I realized he was not exaggerating. The woman has some sweet pie baking karma. Slices of heaven. And it’s all about the crust. The flaky, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth crust. Perfection. So when it came to knocking of #26 on my list I naturally turned to her to teach me the art of pie making.

She spent a couple hours in my kitchen this weekend patiently teaching me how to cut in the shortening (I didn’t even know what that term meant until now), and roll out the perfect pie crust (it helps to roll gently). I think it will take some practice to perfect it on my own but she graciously told me I’ve got potential.

No Fail Pie Crust
5 cups flour
1 tsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. salt
water
2 1/4 cup shortening

Mix flour sugar and salt. Cut shortening into flour mixture. In a 1 cup measuring cup beat 1 egg slightly. Add 1 tsp. white vinegar and fill with ice cold water. Add to flour and shortening mixture until mixed well. Will keep a week in refrigerator. May freeze; thaw before using.

Yield: 6 single crusts for 9-inch pies; perhaps 7 for smaller pie plates.