Flaky Pastry (Pie Dough)

(These are the dough scraps from my Thanksgiving pies. Still tasty and good for making tartlets, etc.)

This is my mom's famous pie dough recipe (she got it from the orange Betty Crocker cookbook she has, that's all I know). I hate flaky pastries and pie crust, but I like this recipe. It is so good! I absolutely love eating just the pie dough and that is always how I test if it's a good batch or not. And it is not too difficult. It came out perfect the first time I made this recipe, which was the day before this last Thanksgiving. This recipe makes 2 9" pie pan crusts or 1 9" pie pan crust and top (for a fruit pie or something). I had some extra dough left and some lemon curd I made for cookies and I'm going to try to make a lemon curd tart with the extra. I'll keep you posted! Anyways, here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 c. (12 Tbsp.) Crisco or lard (lard is what makes it good in my opinion)
• 4-5 Tbsp. cold water.

 Directions:

1. In a bowl, stir together the flour and salt. With a pastry blender (there really is no good substitute for this although the recipe says you can use 2 table knives or a fork positioned sideways), cut the shortening into the flour until the particles are the size of small peas. (It is important that if you use lard to keep it in the fridge until ready for use. This keeps it from melting and ruining the dough.)
2. Pour the water into a cup. While stirring lightly and quickly with a fork, sprinkle the water over the mixture, 1 Tbsp. at a time (up to 4 Tbsp.), just until all the flour is moistened. If the mixture seems dry and crumbly, sprinkle with another Tbsp. of water; mixture should not be wet or sticky. Stir with a fork until the dough forms a ball and almost cleans the sides of the bowl. 
3. With your hands, gather up the mixture into a ball. Divide it in half and flatten each half into a 4" round. Wrap each round with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour to allow the dough to rest. (This tenderizes the dough and makes it easier to handle.)
4. Roll out one round until the dough is about 1/8" thick and 2" larger in diameter than the pie pan you are using. Roll the dough up onto the rolling pin and unroll onto the pie pan. Fit the pastry into the pan.
5. For a single-crust pie or baked pastry shell: leaving about a 1" overhang, trim the edge of pastry with scissors. Fold the edge under so it is even with the rim. Flute the edge by pressing the dough down on the rim with your thumb or pinch with thumb and index finger. Or whatever design, etc. you want. Prick the bottom and sides of the shell thoroughly with a fork (this keeps bubbles in the dough from forming while baking).
6. Bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for 10 minutes if you want to have a bake shell. If not, follow the directions for whatever filling you are making.

So that's it. Pretty easy. Good luck!