Pioneer Woman's Perfect Pie Crust

Try saying the title of this post 3 times fast.  Yikes.

Here is the recipe for the Pioneer Woman's go-to pie crust.  It is quite flaky and good, although as you can see in the picture below, I had a very hard time rolling it out and transferring it to the top of my pot pie (recipe for that comes in the next post).

Perfect Pie Crust
from the Pioneer Woman Cooks

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups vegetable shortening
1 egg
5 tbs cold water
1 tbs distilled white vinegar

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl.  Add in the shortening.  Using a pastry cutter (or two forks!), gradually work the shortening into the flour until the mixture resembles tiny pebbles. (3-4 minutes)

Lightly beat the egg and add it to the mixture.

Add the cold water and the vinegar.

Stir the mixture together until it's just combined, then remove half of the dough from the bowl.

Place in a large plastic bag (do not seal) and slightly flatten with a rolling pin.  (This makes it easier to roll out later.)  After flattening, seal the bag tightly.  Repeat this process with the other half of the dough and place both bags in the freezer.

When you're ready to use the dough, take it out of the freezer about 20 minutes in advance, so it can have time to thaw slightly.

Lightly flour your working surface and roll out the dough to the desired shape (check often to make sure it's not sticking to the counter).