This Thanksgiving I finally forced myself to tackle the one baked item I usually buy from the grocery store: pie crust. I had tried to make pie crust one other time years ago and was frustrated by how finicky the recipes all seemed. Well, this year I found this recipe and let me tell you, I will never buy store-bought pie crust again. It was flaky and buttery and amazing. So, don’t be scared by the fact that everyone always says how you need to use cold butter, ice water, minimal kneading/handling and on and on. This recipe couldn’t be simpler and will not let you down. Recipe and photo courtesy of audreysapron.wordpress.com.

• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 1/2 sticks of cold butter (12 tablespoons)
• 1/4 cup + 2 teaspoons ice water (approximately)

Place flour and sugar in a food processor. Pulse. Add about half of the butter. Pulse.  Add the rest of the butter. Pulse until the mixture turns into coarse crumbs. Through the feed tube, slowly add the ice water and pulse until the dough gathers up into a ball.  If it doesn’t after a few seconds, add a few more drops of ice water until it does. Take the dough and flatten it into a disc and place it on a sheet of floured plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes before rolling.

*If you don’t have a food processor you can easily use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the dry mixture.