3 c Flour
1 c Shortening
1 ds Salt; if desired.
5 tb Water; cold
Put the unsifted flour, shortening, and salt in a bowl, and blend
with a pastry blender until crumbly.
Add approximately 5 tb cold water and mix with a fork until the mix
holds together. You may need more water, but add a little at a time.
Don't mix too much: It should be really smooth or elastic looking.
If it is, you mixed too much.
This makes enough crust for a nice thick top and bottom 10" crust pie.
When baking, tent the edges with tinfoil when they just start to
brown, especially if you are making apple pie, which seems to take
longer.
This is Shirley's recipe, and it makes gloriously thick and flaky pie
crust. Smear a little jam on any spare dough and it makes a marvelous
tart.
Shirley learned to make this pie crust from my Aunt Ah (Emily
Mereweather Ford), who died 5 years ago at age 83. She could bake
the eyes out of an oven. This recipe is dedicated to her.
