The Perfect Pastry Shell

I don’t understand crustless quiche.

I can’t even begin to pretend to understand crustless quiche.

Then again, I come from a family where it’s perfectly normal to take out quiche or pie leftovers and find that someone has eaten all the edges of the crust off.  And that someone was usually me.  But, really, can you blame me?  That’s the best part!!  And I needed to get to it before someone else did.  Obviously.

The recipe for this crust comes from a cookbook my mom has had for years.  You can tell how loved it is just by looking at it, and as with any well-loved cookbook, you can clearly see which recipes are the favorites because it just seems to open to those pages.  And it’s called “The Perfect Pastry Shell,” so really, how could this not be a favorite?  I distinctly remember sneaking hunks of the dough out of the fridge to snack on when I was younger.

Back when my mom ran her own catering company, I used to help her flute the edges of the crust.  And now I’m doomed to hear about how my “tiny fingers” are perfect for fluting pie crust for the rest of my life.

No, really, I am.

See, she couldn’t even email me the recipe without mentioning it.

I neglected to include it when I copied it down, however.  Pity.

The Perfect Pastry Shell

• 1 1/2 cups flour (I used a mix of whole wheat and white, but you can do whatever you’d like)
• 1/4 cup butter, cold and cut into chunks
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon ice water

1. Add flour, butter, shortening and salt to a Cuisanart and pulse until texture of coarse meal.
2. Add ice water and mix until a ball forms.
3. Flatten into a 8-inch round circle, wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
4. Roll out on a heavily floured surface, roll over the rolling pin and unroll in a pie dish.
5. Gently press into pan and flute edges, if desired.