Sunset's Best Basic Pie Crust Dough

From the magazine's August 2007 edition: "It's simple: Use shortening for a flaky texture and butter for a delicious flavor...Makes 1 double crust for a 9-inch pie or 2 single-crust 9-inch pies." Nutrition facts: 168 cal (99 fat cal), 2.1g protein, 11g fat (4.5g sat fat), 15g carb, (0.5g fiber), 270mg sodium, 14mg chol.

• Ready In: 15 mins
• Serves: 1-2

Ingredients

• 2 1⁄2 cups flour
• 1  tablespoon sugar
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
• 7  tablespoons butter, very cold, cut into small pieces
• 7  tablespoons shortening, very cold, cut into small pieces

Directions

1. Mix flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Drop in butter and shortening. Using your hands, a fork, a pastry cutter, or two knives, work butter and shortening into the flour mixture until it resembles cornmeal with some small pea-sized pieces.
2. Using a fork, quickly stir in 1/2 cup ice water (mixture will not hold together). Turn dough and crumbs onto a clean surface. Knead just until dough starts to hold together but some bits still fall away, 5 to 10 times. Divide dough in half and pat each half into a 6-inch disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 20 minutes and up to overnight.
3. NOTES: "If you would like to use lard--which also contributes flavor and flakiness to pie crust--substitute 2 tbsp lard for 2 tbsp of the shortening. Try to get good-quality lard from a butcher shop if you can; it's generally much better than ordinary grocery-store lard.".