Foolproof food processor pie pastry
5 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
5 Tbsp. cold all-vegetable shortening (Crisco)
4 to 5 Tbsp. ice water
Cook’s note: For single-crust 8- or 9-inch pie. Be sure to use unsalted butter and enough water so that the dough easily forms a ball in the bowl. If you are making a two-crust pie, double the recipe. If you are prebaking the crust, use only 4 tablespoons each of butter and Crisco. To prebake a pie shell, refrigerate it for 40 minutes and then freeze it for another 20. Cover with foil, fill with beans or pie weights, and bake at 375 degrees for 21 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 5 minutes longer if the shell must go back into the oven with the filling. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until very brown, if the filling requires no baking.
Cut butter into 3/4-inch pieces and place in freezer for 15 minutes. Mix flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor fitted with steel blade. Place the Crisco in 1-tablespoon lumps into the food processor along with the frozen butter pieces. Pulse 8 to 12 times (1-second pulses) or until the dough appears slightly yellow, pebbly in texture, and the butter is reduced to very small pieces, the size of tiny peas or smaller. Check dough after 5 pulses and every pulse thereafter. Turn mixture into a medium bowl.
Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of water over the mixture. With blade of a large rubber spatula, use a folding motion to mix, then press down on dough with broad side of spatula until dough sticks together, adding up to 2 tablespoons more water if dough will not come together. Work slowly, mixing dough to evenly distribute the water. This should take about 1 minute. The dough should be very wet and sticky at this point. It is better to add too much water than too little. Dust lightly with flour, shape dough into a ball with your hands, then flatten into a 4-inch wide disc. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before rolling.