Happy Pie Month! To kick off this month of delicious desserts, we’re going to start with the basics. According to many people in our family, the best part of Marguerite’s pies were the crust. While there was not a handwritten recipe anywhere in the cookbook, Aaron’s mom was able to give us the low-down.
Marguerite used a basic Crisco pie crust recipe. Aaron’s mom, Mercedes, is a bit of an expert on this crust. She tried to make pies with Marguerite and similar to Marguerite’s many times. A difficult task, because Marguerite said the best crust was one that you didn’t handle too much. Mercedes confessed it was something she was never great at. We think we aren’t quite there yet either, but with the amount of pie’s we’ll be making on this blog, we are hopeful we can get there someday! We already covered it a while ago with our Cranberry Cherry Pie, but we think it’s worth giving it it’s own post.
Aforementioned Cranberry Cherry Pie, made with this crust
Some of the pies in this month will not be made with Marguerite’s perfect pie crust. We’re trying to balance out some of the more “traditional pies” with some unique ones; many of which don’t involve a traditional crust. Just for ease, we’ll also be using a few pre-made pie crusts in place of this crust as well.
That being said, Marguerite’s perfect pie crust is something we enjoy making, because it is one of the things she made best that everyone remembers. So keep an eye out during Pie Month for this crust!
Check out the recipe below and enjoy Marguerite’s Cookbook’s Pie Month!
- 1 1/3 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup Crisco OR
- 1/2 stick Crisco
- 6-8 Tbsp ice cold water
- Blend flour and salt in large bowl. Cut shortening into flour mixture using pasty blender or fork. Stir in just enough water with fork until dough holds together.
- TIP Test dough for proper moistness by squeezing a marble-sized ball of dough in your hand. If it holds together firmly, do not any additional water. If the dough crumbles, add more water by the tablespoonful, until dough is moist enough to form a smooth ball when pressed together.
- Shape dough into a ball. Flatten ball into a 1/2 inch round disk.
- Chill for 30 minutes or up to two days.
- Roll dough from center outward into a circle 2 inches wider than pie plate on lightly floured surface. Transfer dough to pie plate.
Leave a Reply