Grandma Gert's Flaky Pie Crust

My mom's parents owned and operated a few restaurants when she was a little girl back in the 1950's. Basically, my mom grew up in a restaurant, eating delicious food whenever she wanted. Sounds like a dream, huh? I think so. She has many wonderful recipes from her parents who were the cooks and one of the best is her mom's pie crust. I swear that because of this pie crust my mom's pies are always SO good. She is able to make the perfect crust that is both tender and flaky and it is wonderful. The secret is in how you prepare it. You should feel privileged to now have this recipe in your library, it's that good!

Ingredients:
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 t. salt
- 1/3 cup butter
- 2 T. water

Preparation:
Mix together flour and salt in a mixing bowl. With pastry blender, cut in half of the butter until it has a fine coarse meal consistency (this gives it the tenderness). Cut in the remaining butter until the particles are the size of large peas (this gives it the flakiness). Sprinkle with water a tablespoon at a time, mixing lightly with a fork until all the flour is moistened . Form into a ball (if you doubled the recipe, divide dough into 2 balls), place on a floured surface, and flatten a little with your hand. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a circle as thin as you can without it being too thin that it would fall apart. Gently place pie crust into pie pan.

* Never use a shiny-finished aluminum pan. Glass, enamelware, or satin finished metal pans work better.

* If you are making a pie that is not baked but does need a baked shell, first prick sides and bottom with a fork then bake 8-9 minutes at 475 degrees.

* If you are making a pie that requires a lattice or a top, double the recipe.