Great aunt Mabel's advice about pie crust turned out to be a lie

My great aunt Mabel always said you had to use ice water and handle the dough as little as possible. For years I followed that rule and my crusts came out tough. Last Thanksgiving I forgot to chill the water and mixed it with my hands for a full 2 minutes. That pie crust was the flakiest I ever made. Has anyone else found a family cooking rule that just wasnt true?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_eric24d agoMost Upvoted

My grandma swore by vodka in the crust and I tried it once, ended up with a soggy mess. Ice water works fine for me as long as I don't overwork it.

wendyk5624d ago

Oh wait, you've had the opposite experience with vodka? That's wild because I always thought the alcohol trick was foolproof. I was totally on the grandma train for years, thinking vodka was the secret to flaky crusts. But after reading this and trying a few more batches with just ice water, I gotta admit you're right. The key really is just not overworking the dough, no matter what liquid you use. Soggy crusts happen when you mess with it too much, not from skipping the booze.

the_hayden21d ago

Haha, I burn toast. Don't trust me with grandma's secret recipes either.