Never Fail Perfect Pie Crust

For me, nothing tastes like Fall more than those gorgeous flavors of cloves, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. They smell like Fall, they taste like Fall. 

Throw them into a pie with fresh-off-the-tree juicy ripe peaches? I mean, holy smokes. 

But all the lovely Fall spices and juicy peaches in the world wouldn't be worth it unless you had a perfect bed of flaky, buttery, pie crust to go with it. Which is why I have come to you today, friends, with a secret little gem of mine...

I've kept this recipe to myself for 7 years, and today, it's all yours. I want you all to be successful in the kitchen, and make the best pies of your life, and sometimes all you need is a dynamite sure-fire recipe. 

How did I come upon this recipe? Story time, folks. 

It was the summer before we got married. Ryan was out selling security systems in Chicago, while I worked here in Utah at a credit/criminal records firm/boutique/whatever. People would contact us to do background checks on people they're about to hire or use a tenants, and we'd give them the goods for a price. 

I'll admit it, I was totally distracted that whole summer. My fiance was far away, I was working full time and planning a wedding with my Mom. It was nuts. I'm pretty sure they all hated me there, and were excited to have the twitterpated blondie out of their hair by the time the summer was through. But one thing they did that made me feel like maybe they kind of liked me there... was a killer goodbye party. They all threw me a bridal shower at work and ordered a giant pile of Cafe Rio. It was awesome. One of the gifts was from this sweet older lady named Janet. She was the kindest, sweetest soul on the planet, but good heavens, she could dish it out when I needed it, and I loved that about her. She simply handed me an envelope for my gift. I opened it and found a recipe for pie crust, with her peach pie recipe. GOLD MINE, I tell you. I can't remember anything else I had received that day for my bridal shower, except for this sweet, beautiful thoughtful gem. 

The peach pie recipe is awesome (to be shared later) but HOLY SMOKES ARE YOU KIDDING ME the pie crust recipe was something for the ages. It was phenomenal. It was every single thing you'd ever hope and dream of for in a flaky, buttery, easy pie crust. I've been using the recipe ever since, and will never go back. It's easy, it's low-maintenance, but it's 100% from scratch. Dearest Janet, if you're still out there marching to that beautiful tune of yours, thank you for changing my very own life of pie.

(or is it Pi? haaah) 

Never Fail Perfect Pie Crust 
makes 2 pie rounds

ingredients:

2 C flour

1 C butter (or shortening), cubed

1 t salt

1/2 C cold milk

1 T vinegar

method:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, add salt to flour, then add cubed butter (or shortening). Mix on medium speed until mixture looks like crumbly peas and cornmeal. 

2. Add vinegar to cold milk, then add to flour mixture all at once. Stir until just combined on low speed (don't overmix). 

3. Dump mixture out onto a floured surface. Split into 2 baseball-sized balls. Set one aside. Roll out ball with a rolling pin, making sure to flip over after each roll. Roll into about 1/8-inch thick round. Fold in half, and carefully lay into pie pan. 

4. If you're doing a one-crust pie, trim edges with a knife and flute edges with hands, and save the other half for a pie to be used within a couple days. If you're doing a two-crust pie, Fill the pie, then flatten out the other half of the pie dough as you did with the first half. Lattice, slice, cut, shape it into whatever you want, then lay it on the pie filling. Bake according to directions pertaining to pie filling. Enjoy! 

Recipe source: Janet Peacock, friend & former coworker