Finally it’s peach season. I couldn’t resist making a pie this morning. The dough I use makes five crusts. You can put the extra balls in a plastic bag and refrigerate till you make your next pie. Hope you enjoy this family favorite from my book Family Favorites from the Heartland.

Pie Crust-Never-fail Variety

 

Grandma Sally lived in south-west Missouri on a farm. Down the road and a half mile south, lived Bernice (pronounced Burn-nis, with the emphasis on burn). She always made lovely pies. Her crust was flakey and light. I’ve never had a piecrust fail with Bernice’s recipe. The crust rolls out like soft play dough, but tastes like a little bit of heaven.

When I made a pie for my mother, she’d take a bite, close her eyes, and say “Mmmm. Short.” I guess that was my mom’s way of saying the crust was deliciously flakey.

 

Directions:

Set oven at 450.

 

Mix together:
5 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoon brown sugar
1 lb (2 generous cups) lard (I use solid Crisco—not butter flavored.)
Mix these ingredients together with a pastry mixer or two forks until blended.

Then mix together:
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 egg, slightly beaten
Water to make up to ¾ cup
Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture. Mix it until it sticks together. Don’t handle the dough too much. It will make the crust tough. Form the dough into 5 balls. Keep out how many balls you need. Put the others in a Ziploc bag in the refrigerator to use later. You can store the unused portion up to a month.

Wet the counter with a sponge and lay a waxed paper down. Lightly dust the waxed paper with flour and roll out each crust you need. Place the pie pan upside down on the rolled out dough, grab a corner of the waxed paper and flip the pie pan with the dough. Now peel the waxed paper off the dough. For a single crust pie, crimp the edges and bake at 450 degrees 10-12 minutes.

If you’re making a double-crust pie, roll out the first dough, then fill the pie with fruit, and place a second crust on top. Crimp the top and bottom edges together. Bake according to pie recipe directions. (For a double crust pie set the oven at 400 degrees.)

The less you handle the dough, the better it is.

Filling

You can use this recipe for peaches or apples.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Ingredients:

6 or 7 tart apples (I like Granny Smith apples. They hold their shape better.) Or peaches if you prefer.
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ to 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg
Dash of salt
2 tablespoons butter
Pastry for 2-crust 9 inch pie

Instructions:

Pare apples or peaches and slice thin.

Combine sugar, flour, spices, and salt; mix with fruit.

Line 9-inch pie plate with pastry, fill with apple or peach mixture; dot with butter. Cut little vent holes in the top crust with a knife. Adjust top crust and crimp edges.

Bake in hot oven (400 degrees) for 50 minutes or until done.

 

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