Pie crust recipe

Dear Mary,

You asked if I have a good pie crust recipe using all butter. You said you tried the one in Smitten Kitchen and found it lacking. Just OK. 

Well, they say pastry is magic and they say it's easy. I go with magic, because there are so many recipes out there, and they are almost identical. But sometimes the pie crust is better than others. I think I'm getting better at it -- finally! I chill the butter in the freezer whenever I think about it ahead of time. I stopped over-working it in the first whir of the blender. I have a baggie labeled Pie Crust; it's full of white beans that I use for weights. I watch the pie carefully and when the edges are brown enough, but I think the pie itself needs more oven time, I wrap strips of foil over the edges. Even with all that, sometimes the crust turns out better than others. Good luck!

Here's how I make pie crust:

I use this from Real Simple. Or this from Martha Stewart.

or this from Patricia Wells. (my standby. It works.)

1 to 1 1/4 C. flour/ She says all-purpose, but not unbleached.

7 T. butter, chilled and cut into small pieces 

1/8 t. salt

3 T. ice water. 

Put 1 C. flour, butter, and salt in food processor and process to resemble coarse crumbs. Add ice water and pulse only until it begins to hold together. Don't let it form a ball.  (I used to do this too long, and I think that was a mistake. I just didn't believe it would hold together until it completely held together.)Transfer to waxed paper. flatten into disk. If dough seems too sticky, sprinkle it with additional flour, incorporating 1 T. at a time. Refrigerate at least 1 hr. Roll out to 12-inch circle. do the regular stuff. It says if you build the pastry a bit higher than the height of the pan you will have less problem with shrinkage. Prick the bottom with fork tines. Chill at least 20 minutes or wrap well and chill up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 375°.

Line shell loosely with heavy foil, pressing well into the edge so the pastry doesn't shrink while baking. Fill with rice , dried beans, or pie weights. 

For partially baked shell, bake just until it begins to brown around the edges and seems firm enough to stand up on its own., about 20 minutes. Remove weights and foil and bake 10 more minutes.

For fully baked shell, continue to bake 20 minutes after removing the beans and foil. Cool at least 10 minutes before filling.