Great Grandma's Pie Crust
I was lucky enough to grow up spending time with my great grandma. She was one of the sweetest and gentlest souls you could ever meet. I'm so happy to be sharing her pie crust recipe today!
My great grandma, Mable, grew up in the 1920's and 30's. She would sometimes tell stories of how her family moved to Florida to raise strawberries in order to survive The Great Depression. Her entire family (even the dog) piled in their car and left the family farm in Pennsylvania behind. She remembers spending one night of their journey to Florida in a shack along the road. When she woke up, there was a horse poking its head through the window looking at her.
Great Grandma also told me how on their trips to Florida they would make sandwiches from store-bought bread. She remembered how she absolutely loved eating it. She told me "It was a treat that we didn't get too often." Great Grandma told stories of how her older sisters would tease her and remind her to do her chores. They would sing "Mable, Mable, set the table."
Though she had lots of fond memories, she lived a hard life. She remembered the difficulty of moving back to Pennsylvania, leaving her little brother, Cecil buried in Florida. Yet, despite the hard times she became sweeter and was never bitter. In fact, I never once remember her complaining about anything. She was the embodiment of 1 Thessalonians 4:11 and I count it a great blessing having known her.
In honor of her memory, I am sharing Great Grandma's pie crust recipe. This is one of the easiest pie crusts to make - and just like Great Grandma, the recipe is no-fuss!
Great Grandma's Pie Crust
(This recipe makes enough for 2 pie crusts - top and bottom)
You'll need:
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 cups shortening (1 1/2 sticks of butter)
Milk to moisten (about 5 Tablespoons)
Mix together the ingredients in a bowl until combined. Don't overwork or you'll melt the butter and lose the flakiness of the crust.
If you have time, set the dough in the fridge for an hour to chill (this will make it easier to work with).
Turn dough out onto a floured surface and roll it into the shape of a pie pan.
I hope you'll give this recipe a try and let me know what you think!
Thanks for reading,
Abby
