I use Betty Crocker receipe from 1961. 9 in.2crust pie 2 c flour, 1tsp. salt, 2/3 plus 2 level tbls. Crisco(white-plain) 1/4 c water. Mix salt & flour, I use 2 old table knives & mix until the flour has no particles larger than a pea. If it is not mixed enough you will have problems, you will see shortening "marble" through the crust. Add water & mix with fork only until it is forming a ball. finish gathering up with your hands. Dough that is handled a lot will be tough!! So it isn't floury or falling apart I use a piece of waxed paper & masking tape & tape all 4 corners to smooth clean, dry surface may have to use table if your counter is tiled. Once wax paper is down & you have 2 balls of dough(if it won't all gather quickly with your hands, just kind of patting it then sprinkle few drops more of cold water. cover 1 ball with wax paper in bowl while you take other 1 & sprinkle very little flour on wax paper in about a 6-8 in circle put ball on it cover with 2nd piece of wax paper roll out about 6 in wide & lift off waxed paper & turn over-the floured side is up now, cover with wax paper & roll out 1st left to right couple of times & then up & down so it stays a circle, don't be trying to squish it, roll it out, set your pan on top & you should see crust about 2 in or more all around, you need enough to go up sides of pan & to make an edge. When it looks right, remove top wax paper carefully,if it starts to break go to different area & peel back. When top wax paper is off turn pan upside down on pie circle & remove the masking tape on bottom waxpaper by carefully pulling back so you can put it down again for 2nd crust. When you have all 4 corners of wax paper free flip the waxpaper with crust & pan over,you can grip it with both hands,Crust is now in pan, get it evenly placed & peel off waxpaper,then fit crust into bottom & up sides fill & stick the waxpaper down on table using same tape as before roll top crust & edge however you like. Never falls apart this way,& not floury. Cleanup just take the 2 sheets of wax paper & toss in trash. If you use this method you should have good results every time. You can use the wax paper with any receipe but if has egg & vinegar etc may need bit more flour, if it is sticking & can't roll it off paper with your finger it needs more flour. Just make sure you don't shortcut mixing the salt/flour mixture with Crisco or you will have problems. If there is a gob of Crisco it will stick to waxpaper.Last yr. 11 yr old granddaughter wanted to learn how to make pumpkin pies, I said great. Was she surprised when she had to do all the work & grandma just watched & told her pretty much what I just said above. She took home 2 beautiful pies. Only thing she couldn't get was flipping the pan & crust on waxpaper over. I think she was afraid she would drop it. I did put them in oven & took them out of oven. She's quite small & I didn't want her to get burned.She was very proud of herself & I told her I thought I "learned" how to wallpaper until I was alone & then had to have friend come back & make me do it so I really knew how, watching someone often is not enough! Good Luck! Jan

Pie crust... 3 cups of flour 1/2 pound frozen butter cut into dice. Cut the 2 together, I use a food processor, with 1/4 tsp salt unless using unsalted butter...then add 2/3 tsp salt. Add 4 tablespoons of vodka and toss with a fork...add about 4 T of ice water until the dough will form a ball....chill 30 to 40 minutes, divide in half and roll out. Or... 2 cups flour 2/3 cup crisco or lard 3/4 tsp salt 7 T ice water...or as much as needed to form a ball of the dough. Makes 2 8 or 9 inch crusts.

Lars, I am going to have to try that one... too interesting not to, lol.. I buy cottage cheese to have on hand for a childhood comfort food of spaghetti and cottage cheese, so next time I'll buy a large container and try it. I'll report back. I like the Nathans crust, and that perfect butter crust that Terri posted is about what I usually do. I don't usually use a recipe since I've made so many pies, often in large numbers. That crust that uses 5#'s of flour is a good one too. I love oatmeal so I'm going to have to try Ann's Maple Oat one too. We picked up a bunch of apples today at the heritage farm, and I think that would be good with them. Thanks for posting it Terri. The only one I don't care for is the one that uses vodka. I've tried it a couple times and just didn't care for it. Didn't care for the taste and texture could have been better. I drink vodka, so the taste shouldn't have been a problem, lol. I do better winging it.. smiles. Those pie crust pinwheels were made with the last of that crust I had frozen. I didn't even like it used as that but luckily Christy liked them. Wasn't my technique, since I have no trouble with a light hand anyplace else, plus I made it twice, had to give it a good chance. But, hey, that's what this place is about. Not everyone will like every recipe.

I need to try this. Right up my alley. Putting cottage cheese on the grocery list. Here is the recipe....And Lars mentioned later in the post that the butter should be softened, unlike the chilled cubed butter in regular crust recipes. (cuisinart or stand mixer?) The recipe is from Orowheat Bakery's Cooking With Gourmet Grains, published in the mid 1970s. Ingredients: 1 cup butter 1 cup cottage cheese 2 cups flour Combine butter and cottage cheese with a mixer until well combined. Stir in flour until just mixed and divide in half. Press each half into a disc, wrap with plastic wrap, and chill for an hour or so (or keep in the fridge for a couple of days, if necessary). Roll each disc on a floured board. I frequently make several small discs and form them over the bottom of a muffin pan to make tarts, but you can bake this crust as you normally would for a single or double crust pie, starting in a 450ð oven for 10 minutes and then in a 375ð oven until lightly brown. The cottage cheese makes the crust puff up and become flaky, somewhat like an Austrian pastry. This is the easiest fool-proof recipe for pie crust that I have made. Lars