Anne’s “Super-dooper” Pie Crust

One of life’s greatest pleasures is the aroma and taste of a big, luscious piece of Mom’s warm, homemade pie, together with a cup of fine robust coffee from Boquete.  During our busy days, why don’t we bake more pies? Maybe it’s because the crust seems so difficult to make. Maybe we think it will turn out tough or soggy, or we think it won’t be able to roll out easily.

For me, it was all of the above and it just took too much time – until David’s sister Anne brought forth her “easy as pie”, “never-fail”, “super-dooper” pie crust recipe that includes an egg and vinegar, yes vinegar! Here it is:
Wisk 4 cups flour, 1T sugar and 2t salt in a large bowl.
Add 1 3/4 cup vegetable shortening with a fork
Beat 1 T vinegar, 1 large egg and 1/2 cup water in a small bowl.
Combine with a fork and divide into 4 portions, shape each portion into a round patty, wrap separately in ClingWrap and freeze the patties.

The fun part of making a pie is putting it all together and with Anne’s recipe it actually becomes a pleasure. First, I take out a patty from my freezer and while it’s thawing, I decide what kind of pie to make by visiting my favorite foodie sites or researching my specialty cookbooks. A trick I learned from Rachel Ray is to always have ingredients on hand to make my favorite dishes, so I have lots of pie filling possibilities in my pantry.

Any time you feel like making one of Mom’s tasty homemade pies, defrost a patty, roll it out between two pieces of waxed paper, transfer the crust to a pie plate, fill it up with your favorite pie filling and bake. Pecan, pumpkin and spinach quiche are my most frequent choices.