Pecan Pie Crust

This is one of the recipes I took to our early Thanksgiving dinner with Matt & Heather that wonderful Sunday. She asked for a couple of the recipes. Since I had more than one person ask for this pie crust recipe, I figured this was a good place to put it. It makes one 9-inch pie crust.

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Pecan Pie Crust

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups unsifted all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp confectioners sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 Cup well-chilled unsalted butter, diced

4 Tbsp frozen butter-flavored Crisco shortening, diced

1/2 Cup chopped pecans

3 to 4 Tbsp ice water

Instructions:

1. Mix together flour, confections sugar and salt in large bowl.
2. Add butter and shortening.
3. Using pastry cutter (1st choice) or fingers (in latex gloves in you're me) cut the fats into the dry ingredients until the mixture is the consistency of coarse meal.
4. Add pecans and toss with forks to mix.
5. Add ice water, one Tbsp. at a time, around the edge of the bowl, stirring with a fork until moist clumps form.
6. With lightly floured hands, shape dough into one disk, breaking gluten by creasing it with the side of your hand.
7. Cover dough with plastic wrap, refrigerating for at least an hour.
8. Roll into one 9-inch pie crust

Bake as with any other pie crust. At this point, it will depend on whether you're making a pre-baked crust or filling it first. Go with the instructions for the pie you're baking.

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I take the scraps from the edges of the pie, place them on a cookie sheet and sprinkle them with sugar. Bake in a 350° oven for about 12-15 minutes. Keep an eye on it, as every oven is different, and I live at 6,000 feet, so I've adjusted for that. You'll get a wonderful treat from your "scraps." When I do this with plain (not pecan) pie crust, I add cinnamon and sugar to the scraps before baking. Part of the fun is the different sizes and shapes of the scraps. Don't try to make them look pretty. Just put them in the cookie sheet the way the come off the edges of the pie.