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For a 9-inch single-crust pie:

• 1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons ice water
• 1/2 cup Crisco or other good shortening

For a 9-inch double- or lattice-crust, just double this recipe.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Put the Crisco in a medium bowl. Over it, pour 1 cup of the flour and the salt, reserving 1/4 cup flour. With your pastry blender (some old timers use a fork), cut the flour and salt into the Crisco until the mixture resembles coarse meal..

Combine the reserved 1/4 cup of flour with the 2-1/2 tablespoons ice water (estimate, or, if you must be exact, a half tablespoon equals 1-1/2 teaspoons) in a cup to make a smooth paste. Pour the paste over the pastry mixture and continue cutting in with the pastry blender until incorporated. Remember, the less you work the dough, the lighter and flakier the pastry.

Form the pastry into a ball, flatten and roll between sheets of waxed paper (you may see little veins of Crisco here and there, but that's okay) to a thickness of about 1/8 inch and 1-1/2 to 2 inches wider than the pie plate.

Peel off the top piece of waxed paper, invert a 9-inch pie plate on dough surface, and turn the sheet of dough and the pie plate over. Center the dough on pie plate, if necessary, and peel off the second sheet of waxed paper (tear off in pieces, if you like). Fit the dough into the pie plate without stretching it. If the dough tears a little, just pinch it back together.)

Trim the dough to overhang the edge of the pie plate by about 1-1/4 inches, then turn under to make an edge. You can put a fancy crimp in the edge at this point, if you wish.

Pre-Baked Pie Shells:
For a pre-baked pie shell, prick bottom and sides of pastry with a fork to avoid bubbles developing, and bake in a 425°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes until the crust is lightly browned.

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Note: To make your piecrust in a food processor, put the flour and salt in the processor bowl. Pulse a few times to mix. Add the shortening to the flour mixture, and process about 10 seconds until mixture is consistency of coarse meal. With the food processor running, slowly add ice water in a thin stream just until the dough holds together. Do not process the dough for more than half a minute.

Conventional wisdom holds, and I agree, that glass (Pyrex) pie plates generally make better pie shells than those made of metal.

Note: More piecrust recipes:

• Butter Pastry
• Graham Cracker Crust
• Gingersnap Crust
• Vanilla Wafer Crust
• Chocolate Cookie Crust
• Coconut-Shortbread Piecrust

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