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

My hunch, if it was central VA and a BBQ place, was that it wasn't a pate sucree or something similar. It was probably an "American" pie crust. You can make a great flaky crust in about four minutes with butter, flour, and a little ice cold water. Can add a pinch of salt if you want. Leave some pretty large chunks of butter and make sure you do the fraisage. Like always, let it sit for an hour or so or even a day before rolling it out. Most likely based on cost and region, they probably used shortening, but don't. It tastes bad and makes your crust have a bad mouthfeel. Just use butter. Bake it well, maybe weighing it down, and make sure you bake it very close to the time you are going to use it. In other words, don't bake it today for use tomorrow or the next day. It's never as crisp as it is the first day. Let it cool, fill and serve immediately. The water from the filling will start to soften it right away, so you don't want to let that sit if you want to maintain the crispiness. This post was edited by rosesinny on Mon, Feb 18, 13 at 17:57

I'm happy to provide it! Embarrasingly easy. GreatGram's Pie Crust 1 c. flour 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp salt. 1/3 c. shortening (generous) 1/4 c. milk Mix dry ingredients and cut in shortening. Add liquid. Makes enough pastry for 8" single-crust pie. When I made the pecan pies for the restaurant, my hands were hurting something awful! My husband (who doesn't cook at all) said--fine I'll do it! Sure, dude! I couldn't believe he thought he could make pie crust! Coffee, yes, pie crust?????? Well, I measured out the ingredients and then bent over the bowl as he mixed the dry ingredients with the shortening using the pastry thingie. When everything was as it should be--I yelped "Stop!" then took over. He is too funny! Didn't understand what was going on, but oh so happy to do it! Trudymon, enjoy it. It is very easy to use and its the only crust I ever make!

My favorite pie crust recipe doesn't call for lard but I see no reason why you couldn't replace lard for the shortening. I used to make lard pie crust most of the time but realized one day that while I liked it for savory pies I really like butter based crusts better for dessert pies. Foolproof Pie Dough Cook's Illustrated Vodka is essential to the texture of the crust and imparts no flavordo not substitute. This dough will be moister and more supple than most standard pie doughs and will require more flour to roll out (up to 1/4 cup). INGREDIENTS--For one 9-inch Single-Crust Pie 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (6 1/4 ounces) 1/2 teaspoon table salt 1 tablespoon sugar 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (3/4 stick), cut into 1/4-inch slices 1/4 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening , cut into 2 pieces 2 tablespoons vodka , cold 2 tablespoons cold water 1. Process 3/4 cups flour, salt, and sugar together in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogeneous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 10 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds with some very small pieces of butter remaining, but there should be no uncoated flour). Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining 1/2 cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl. 2. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Flatten dough into 4-inch disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days. 3. Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place rimmed baking sheet on oven rack, and heat oven to 425 degrees. Remove dough from refrigerator and roll out on generously floured (up to ¼ cup) work surface to 12-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll into pie plate, leaving at least 1-inch overhang on each side. Working around circumference, ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with one hand while pressing into plate bottom with other hand. Leave overhanging dough in place; refrigerate until dough is firm, about 30 minutes. 4. Trim overhang to ½ inch beyond lip of pie plate. Fold overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of pie plate. Flute dough or press the tines of a fork against dough to flatten it against rim of pie plate. Refrigerate dough-lined plate until firm, about 15 minutes. 5. Remove pie pan from refrigerator, line crust with foil, and fill with pie weights or pennies. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and weights, rotate plate, and bake for 5 to 10 minutes additional minutes until crust is golden brown and crisp. Note: I've doubled this recipe for two crust pies, just rolled, filled and put the top crust on, it's wonderful. Nancy