All-Butter Pie Crust

Since we're heading into prime apple pie season, I thought I would share this crust recipe. I love a good pie crust, but most of them require shortening and in my mind, "shortening" is another word for partially hydrogenated oil... something I avoid like the plague. There's no question that it helps make a great crust, but I still don't like it. So, I was thrilled to find this recipe (which I've modified a bit) and use it any time I make a pie. I know that butter isn't a healthy form of fat, but at least it comes from a cow and not a factory.

This makes one 9-inch, double-crust pie shell.

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbs. sugar

16 Tbs. (2 sticks) frozen, unsalted butter; grated

1 Tbs. lemon juice

1/3 cup ice water, more if needed

(You can combine all of the ingredients in a food processor, but I always do it the old fashioned way.)

1. Blend flour, salt and sugar together in a bowl. Add grated butter and combine.
2. Sprinkle lemon juice and 1-2 tablespoons of water over flour mixture. Combine with a spoon.
3. Add additional ice water until dough forms large clumps and no dry flour remains.
4. Turn dough out onto work surface. Divide into 2 balls and flatten each into a 4-inch disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm but not hard, 1-2 hours, before rolling.
5. Roll out the bottom and top crusts.
6. Fill pie shell with something yummy!