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I always thought my grandma's pie crust was just okay until I saw her make it

She visited me in Phoenix last month and I watched her measure the shortening by packing it into the cup. I've been lightly spooning it for ten years, like you do with flour. That one thing changed the texture completely. My crusts were always a bit tough and hers are perfectly flaky. I tried it her way three times now and it's a totally different dessert. Anyone have a family trick like that, something simple you were doing wrong forever?
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3 Comments
roberts95
roberts9516d ago
Always thought packing shortening sounded wrong until I tried it myself. @bettyroberts is onto something with that extra fat making it tender. Guess grandma really did know best.
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the_miles
the_miles14d ago
Guess I've been baking cardboard all this time.
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bettyroberts
bettyroberts16d agoTop Commenter
Honestly, I used to swear by the spoon and level method for everything. I thought packing was just for brown sugar. But you're right, that density makes all the difference with fat. My crusts were always kind of dry and sad. Seeing my aunt just dump and pack the Crisco into the cup was a total lightbulb moment. It seems so obvious now, but I was following the wrong rule for years. The extra shortening makes it tender instead of tough.
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