It’s always good to know the basics in cooking so that you can experiment more with the other elements in any given recipe.  I have used one pie crust recipe my entire life – and I’m talking since I was probably around 8 or 10 when my dad and I would make apple pie together.  We refer to his recipe as “Little Davie’s Pie Crust” which, if I’m not mistaken, has been called that since he was a wee bit.  It is honestly the best pie crust I have ever had, which is saying a lot because pie is my favorite dessert and I eat it constantly.

Ingredients (makes enough for one double, or two single crusts):

3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup shortening (or butter)
9 to 12 tablespoons water

1. Mix dry ingredients

2. Add shortening or butter and cut into the dry ingredients with a fork or pastry blender until it is a coarse mixture.  Don’t blend too long, it only takes a few seconds and you want bigger pieces of shortening, trust me.

3. Slowly begin to add just enough water for it to form a not-too-sticky ball

4. Divide into 2 equal sections and roll out on a floured surface or chill first if you prefer

*Generally for fruit pies, this dough does well at 450°F for about 10-15 min but for pies that take longer, like pumpkin – follow the pumpkin recipe instead.

*****Super important – if you are making pumpkin pie (or any other pie that generally takes longer to bake) make sure you cover your crust edges with tin foil for the first 40 minutes and only take it off for the last 20 min.  Pie crust bakes very fast and if you don’t want it to burn (like I did with the pictured pie because I was being lazy) cover that crust! *****

Happy Thanksgiving to all you United Statesers out there;)