Day 5… Freezer Pie Crusts

I like to make a lot of pies. And on cold winter days we love quiche or pot pie for dinner.

It is so fiddly, though, to make pie crust one or two at a time. (And clean up the mess over and over!). Much easier mixing up one large batch of pie crust to store in the freezer. Having a supply of ready-made pie crust is worth the initial effort!!

My recipe calls for Crisco, but if I have enough, I like to substitute butter for half of the shortening. I weigh 1.5 pounds each of butter and Crisco when gathering the ingredients.

And because this amount of ingredients doesn’t fit in my Kitchenaid, I end up using my hands to mix in the ice water :)

3 pound can Crisco vegetable shortening
5 pounds all-purpose flour
3 cups ice water
2 tablespoons salt

1. Mix flour and salt in a very large bowl or pan.

2. Cut in Crisco until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal

3. Add water all at once and mix very gently until the dough forms into a ball.

4. Divide into 18-20 portions and pat each into a disc. Flash freeze OR wrap each disc in plastic wrap and store in Ziploc bags in the freezer. May be stored in freezer up to 1 year.

5. When ready to make a pie, thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Dust dough, board and rolling pin with flour and roll into pie crust.