Elsie Hack won the 1978 Ohio State Fair pie baking competition with the use of this crust. (It was encircled by an apple pie.) It takes some work to roll and handle the crust because it becomes extremely flaky when baked, but the effort is definitely worth it.
| Servings: | 24 |
| Yield: | 1 – 9 inch double or 3 single crusts |
Ingredients
- 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cups shortening
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
- 5 tablespoons ice water
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix flour and salt. With a pastry blender, cut in the shortening until pea-sized.
- Beat together egg, vinegar and water. Mix liquid with flour mixture, using a fork, until mixture forms a ball (Note: add liquid one tablespoon at a time. You probably will not use all of it.)
- Roll out on lightly floured pastry cloth with cloth covered roller.
- Brush the crust with milk and sprinkle with sugar before baking.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 154 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 12 g |
| Cholesterol | 8 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Protein | 2 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Sodium | 52 mg |
| Sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 11 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I have never been able to make pie crust like my mom (who has passed away) until I found this recipe. I knew she used vinegar and an egg and was always able to make the pies without having to refrigerate the pastry first. I have tried many. This was the very best. Excellent!
Yesterday I tried my normal pie crist recipe. I was so frustrated I threw the whole mess out. Today I looked for a “never fail” recipe and found this one. Came together beautifully, rolled out like a miracle and tasted great. Thank you hardly seems like enough!
I used half lard and half butter for the shortening. I also filled the bottom crust with pie weights lined with parchment paper and then prebaked the bottom for 20 minutes at 400 degrees before I add fruit filling and the top crust. This ensures that the bottom crust doesn’t get soggy.
Stumbled across this recipe and never went back to my old boring crust recipe. It’s awesome. Crispy and tender. It is hard to handle so I use foil to roll it out on and a bit of flour, so it doesn’t stick. It sizzles in the oven. And tastes so flavorful. I won a pie contest at church with this recipe. Truly, I made boring crusts before I found this recipe. Great for apple, blackberry, pumpkin, sweet potatoes pies… that sort of pie. Double crust or single. Wish I took a photo, next time!
Best pie crust I’ve made, and I’ve made many! It is a tender crust, but held together well and didn’t crack much when rolling. I agree with others that chilling it before rolling is a good idea. I had just enough for two crusts for a somewhat deep dish Apple pie.
This is the BEST recipe for a gluten free pie crust. I use King Arthur AP GF flour and leaf lard instead of the shortening. You roll between two pieces of parchment dusted with flour and peel off the top one and flip it over onto a pie plate and peel off the bottom. VERY flaky. Husband loves and it and he hates gf crusts. THANK YOU.
This is the recipe my Grandmother made for years. She worked in a bakery for a long time, after she retired she made 5 pies a day just for “fun”! They were awesome! So glad I found it again! Thank you!
Okay, so I am lazy but I also like trying variations…so I used 3/4 cup avocado oil for the fat, and 5 T of sour cream for the water (saw elsewhere this as a sub that is excellent). I mixed those with the egg and added to the dry ingredients (+ a pinch of baking powder). I chilled the dough for handling (as others suggested), rolled and pre-baked the shells at 450 for 10 mins. Then added quiche ingredients and finished baking (at 350). This is now my go to EASY fork-mixable, super-flaky pie crust. Yum!
Made 20 pies for a church fund raiser using this recipe, only used lard from a slaughtered hog. All my pies looked great and everyone loved them. Made dough one day & rolled out the next. Found dough easy to work with and corrections seamless. Flakey, easy and keeps well so you can make ahead and store in refrigerator for at least a week.
I replaced 1/4 cup of the Crisco with cold butter, and it was amazing in my apricot pies
Even my husband comments on the crust1
This is my grandmother’s pie crust recipe. Don’t forget to refrigerate for an hour before using.
Love this recipe. I add 1/4 tsp of baking powder also. I get rave reviews every time. Don’t forget to brush with milk and add sugar.
This is the best pie crust ever! I used half shortening half butter. Also used Bragg’s apple cider vinegar. I added just a touch more water than it says. Rolled out easily. Let it rest before filling. It came out perfectly flaky and golden. This is a keeper!
I now have made it three times and the family raves about the crust. I use it when I make fresh fruit tarts. The only problem with the recipe is that you do not have the temperature of the oven and the time. I use a temperature of 425 degrees with 12 to 15 minutes, depending how brown I want it.
This crust rolls out so easily! I always made good crusts, but sometimes it was very frustrating rolling them out and they didn’t look to pretty when I was done. This is so much better!
This is a wonderful recipie easy to make and gives great results this is the only one I use now I have made it dozens of times!!
This is the only pie crust recipe used by mom, sisters and I. The trick is to make sure everything is really cold. Put Crisco and pastry blender in the bowl and put it in the freezer for 30-45 minutes. After dough is mixed, place in frig for 30-60 minutes. This will make it easier to roll out and handle. If you don’t need both crusts, go ahead and make up the second one in a pan and freeze.
This recipe worked great! :-). It’s definitely a keeper. I made it as the recipe said and it was very tender and flaky, not to mention easy to roll out. Thank you for sharing your recipe!! 🙂
I could not find my grandmother’s recipe after the move, in a box somewhere. But found it here
I realized I’ve made this crust before and I hate it. It tasted fine but it was a real pain to work with. It stuck to EVERYTHING – the pastry board, the rolling pin, even the plastic wrap. I salvaged it and got 3 crusts. They are in the freezer waiting for a day before Thanksgiving when I’ll make the pies but I hope I remember to never use this recipe again. Believe me – if you’ve never made crust before you will hate this because it’s so hard to rol out.