Pie Crust a la Martha Stewart

With apologies to Mom; your daughters never learned to make pie dough by the “feel” of it as you did. Even though you tried to teach us and even made crusts for me to freeze when you came to visit, our attempts to duplicate your recipe were never successful. Our adaptation of Martha’s recipe is a good substitute, though not as flaky as Mom’s.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and salt. Add butter, and process until it’s crumbly, less than 15 seconds.

Pour the water over the flour mixture, then turn on the food processor. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disk, and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator, and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month. Makes 1 double-crust or 2 single-crust 9- to 10-inch pies.