Easy as pie Pie Crust

I was always afraid to make my own pie crust and I always took the easy route of using a store-bought crust. Then, my eyes were opened! When I lived in France, we often made apple tarts and quiches and my roommate, Leslie, taught me that making crust is super easy.

This recipe comes from a cooking class that I took the other night at Whole Foods.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 T sugar
1/2 t salt
6 T unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces
3 T solid vegetable shortening, chilled, cut into small pieces
4 T ice water

Directions:
Blend the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor using a plastic blade. Add the butter and shortening; pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. *This is where the professional chef told us that "less is more". It is better to underblend than overblend.* Drizzle water over the mixture and process just until moist clumps form. Add more water if the dough it still dry. Gather the dough into a ball and flatten it into a disk. Wrap it and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Roll out the dough into a 14-inch round. Transfer into a pie dish. Fold the edges as desired. Poke the bottom of the crust with a fork and chill for another 15 minutes.

Pre-heat the over to 375ºF and bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Cool completely.