I made a pie for our Thanksgiving dinner that I am pretty proud of!

My last semester of college I needed to fill some elective credits so my friend Melissa (meet her here) & I decided to take a homemaking class which consisted of cooking, sewing and interior design. In the cooking portion we learned how to make a killer pie crust. It turns out beautifully golden and buttery and flaky.  So I used this skill (thank you college) to make an apple pie and impress the Warrens.

Here’s the crust recipe:
Yields 2-3 shells

3 cups All-purpose flour

1 T   Sugar

1 t.   Salt

1/2t.  Baking powder

1 T    Nonfat Dry Milk Powder

1/4   cup Butter

1/3   cut Shortening

1/2   cup cold Water (may need up to 1 T more)

Measure all dry ingredients in a medium bowl and stir together. Cut fats in to the dry ingredients until pieces are the size of small peas. Mix together with a fork or lightly with your hands.

Next, add the water to help hold it together. This is important: Do not add too much liquid. You want just enough so you can hold it together. But not too much that it’s sticky. It should feel about like play dough.

Now that the dough is mixed, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. There will be some unincorporated dry bits — that’s totally okay.

You’ll want to gently press the dough together. Don’t knead it like you would bread dough or biscuit dough. A few presses is all that is needed. Repeat to yourself: gentle, gentle, gentle.

Divide the dough into halves. Wrap each half in plastic wrap. You can freeze it for later, or chill it in the fridge for about an hour until you’re ready to roll out your crust.

I also really liked this site for tips and tricks with crust. http://www.designmom.com/2012/09/6-secrets-to-the-perfect-pie-crust/