Serves: 5
Total Calories: 395

2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup vegetable shortening solid
5 to 7 tablespoons water cold

In a small bowl, mix flour and salt. With a pastry blender or two knives, cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle water over the top and toss with a fork until uniformly moistened. Press dough firmly into a ball. Divide dough almost in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll larger portion of dough to 1/8 -inch thickness. Fit loosely into a 9- or 10-inch pie plate. Fill as desired. Roll remaining dough for top crust and place over filling. Trim both crusts 1/2 inch beyond rim of pie plate. Fold edges under, seal, and flute. Cut slits to permit steam to escape during baking. Bake as directed in recipe.

For a lattice top, cut rolled dough into 1/2 -inch strips. Weave strips in lattice fashion over filling, leaving 1-inch spaces between strips. Trim lattice strips even with bottom pastry. Fold bottom pastry over lattice strips seal and flute.

For tart shells, prepare two recipes for Double-Crust Pie. Roll out half of one recipe at a time and cut into 2- or 3-inch circles, depending on size of tart shells. Fit into tart pans or over inverted muffin pan cups. If baking before filling, see Pastry for Single-Crust Pie, for further directions and bake only 8 to 10 minutes. Makes 20 to 24 tart shells.

Nutritional Facts:

Serves: 5
Total Calories: 395
Calories from Fat: 235

More Recipes from the 50 Pies Cookbook:
Butter Pecan Crust
Chocolate Crunch Crust
Chocolate Wafer Crust
Gingersnap Crust
Graham Cracker Crust
Pastry for Double-Crust Pie
Strawberry Creme Pie
Vanilla Wafer Crust