Ok, I know what you’re thinking….
LARD?!?!?!
Yes, lard.
It wasn’t so uncommon back in the day.
You know, before processed crap took over our lives and “they” started telling us how bad butter and lard and saturated fat were for us.
Now we know that butter is so much better for us than margarine.
We know that saturated fat is not the devil and can be very nutritious in things like coconut oil.
I’m certainly not touting lard as a health food by any means, but when you’re making pie crust it’s not like you’re heading down a path of health anyway!
AMIRIGHT???
Pie crust is meant to be filled with indulgent things like cheesy quiche, cherry filling, coconut cream, chocolate pecan filling and pumpkin filling!
Tis the season for eating!
Oh, and being thankful ;)
Although I consider myself to be rather proficient in the kitchen, pie crust has ALWAYS been my nemesis.
I’ve tried multiple recipes and never been completely satisfied with the results. I always struggle with the dough being dry and crumbly. I know the rule of thumb is never to overwork the dough, so I usually do the best I can and end up with an ugly pie that has hard flavorless crust.
It’s been a HUGE bummer for me year after year.
Last year for Thanksgiving I caved and bought frozen piecrust dough and while it was easy to work with, it just didn’t have the homemade flavor I love so much.
Enter this recipe.
My mom brought us a quiche ages ago and while the cheesy broccoli filling was delicious, I found myself being even more into the crust!
It was rich and flakey and full of flavor.
I mean seriously delicious.
When I asked her about it she told me the secret was lard!
I may have been a little skeptical at the time, but when it came time to make pies for this Thanksgiving, I asked her for the recipe.
I bought a big ole tub of lard at Kroger and got to work last night making the dough.
It came together super easy and was an absolute dream to roll out!
This is my go-to crust from here on out. And with the amount of lard I have on hand, I see many a quiche and random weekday pie in my future!
Try it and let me know what you think. I cannot wait to sink my teeth into my pies this year!
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup lard
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract (optional, but nice for a sweet pie vs. savory quiche)
- 6 tablespoons ICE COLD water
- ** MAKES ONE SINGLE CRUST**
- In a medium mixing bowl combine flour and salt and mix well.
- Add ⅓ cup lard and using a pastry cutter or two knives, mix until pea sized crumbs appear.
- Add ice water a tablespoon at a time, using a fork to combine the dough. (You may get by with less than 6 tablespoons which is why adding them one at a time works well)
- Roll dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate a couple of hours or overnight.
- Remove from plastic onto a well floured surface and roll into a circle just larger than your pie plate.
- Carefully lift crust and place into pie plate.
- Crimp edges, tucking excess dough as you go or cutting it off if you prefer.
- Bake according to whatever pie recipe you're using.
- Enjoy!
