Ding! Clever recipe alert for a reliable pie crust you’ll make again and again! Double ding! Cute gift alert! Next time you’re making your favorite pie, double the recipe and whip up some adorable individual-sized pies using half-pint glass jars (see recipe on opposite page). For ease of use, purchase the widest-mouth jar you can find.

　　

Ingredients

makes 2 9-inch pie crusts

　　1 1/4 cups vegetable shortening, such as Crisco

　　3 cups all-purpose flour

　　1 teaspoon salt

　　1 large egg, well beaten

　　1 tablespoon white vinegar

　　5 tablespoons ice water

　　

Step 1

With a pastry cutter or two forks, cut the shortening into the flour and salt in a large bowl, or place in a food processor and pulse until the texture is like sand.

　　

Step 2

In a small bowl, combine the egg, vinegar, and ice water. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture all at once. Stir with a spoon until all of the flour is moistened, or pulse in a food processor until the dough comes together in a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour before using.

　　

note

Step 3

If you don’t plan to use your dough immediately, you can freeze the dough with great results! Form a 1/2-inch-thick dough disk, then wrap in plastic wrap and place in freezer until firm, about 2 hours. Once firm, place the dough disk in a freezer bag. Dough will last for up to two months in the freezer.

　　From The Casserole Queens Cookbook by Crystal Cook & Sandy Pollock. Copyright © 2011 by Crystal Cook and Sandy Pollock; Food photographs copyright © 2011 by Ben Fink. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers.Crystal Cook and Sandy Pollock, the Casserole Queens, have been delivering casseroles in Austin, Texas, since 2006; they also teach cooking classes at Whole Foods stores in the area. They have been featured on Food Network's Throwdown! with Bobby Flay and Bobby Flay Radio on Sirius XM, as well as on television news and radio talk shows.