Pfeiffer's Perfect Pie Crust

Uncle Jan's mother is an expert pie maker. Her secret is in her crust recipe. She graciously gave my dad her recipe years ago. He claims there is no better pie crust recipe in the world, and I agree! The secret to a great crust is to not over work the dough. Keep that in mind if you decide to take on this scrumptious crust.

PERFECT PIE CRUST

3 C flour
1 1/2 C of shortening
1 1/2 t of salt
1 1/2 eggs
1/3 C water
1 1/2 T cider vinegar

Combine flour and salt in large mixing bowl. Cut shortening into flour mix until it is just mixed and has a coarse texture, like cornmeal. Add the eggs, water and vinegar. Blend the wet ingredients into the mix until it is just mixed. Put your hands into the dough to finish meshing all the ingredients together. Divide the dough in half. Roll out half of the dough onto a lightly floured surface. It should be about a quarter of an inch thick. Fold the rolled out dough in half, pick it up and place it in the bottom of a pie dish. Lightly press the dough into the sides of the pie dish. Trim the dough making sure to leave about an inch of excess dough around the edges. Fill the dish with the pie filling you prepared ahead of time. If you desire a top crust, roll out the other half of the dough, fold it and place it atop the pie. Trim excess dough off the sides and seal the edges. Put little slits with a knife in the top of the pie for ventilation. Sprinkle sugar over the pie. Wrap the pie loosely with foil making a tent to prevent the crust from getting too crispy. Bake according to pie recipe instructions, making sure to remove the foil tent the last 10 minutes of the bake time. P.S. Sometimes we save the extra dough and cut it into decorative shapes to bake atop the pie.