there will be 2 pumpkin and 1 chocolate pecan. i was planning 2 of each but just realized that i only have 3 10-inch pie plates. oops. 🙂 no worries… i have a plan.

here’s the first crust. currently the 2 pumpkin pies are in the oven.

recipe for one 8-9 inch crust (increase for a 10-inch or for a two-sided crust):

1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
– sift together

1/3 cup mixed: chilled veg shortening (crisco) and unsalted butter – both should be chilled
– add this in small pieces to your sifted flour and salt
– using a pastry knife, mix the fats with into the dry things until the clumps are about pea-sized (try not to do it too much, or your crust will be tough

3-4 tbsp ice water (you should have set this aside at the beginning to get it nice and cold)
-drizzle 1 tbsp at a time over the flour mixture.
-after each drizzle, sweep it with a fork
-when done, use your hands to gently form it into a ball
– wrap the ball in plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge for 30 minutes or longer
– on floured surface, roll it out until it is about 1/4 inch thick and over-reaches the edges of the pie plate by as much as possible
-cut off some of the excess (save to make crust cookies)
– turn the excess under, pinch it and do whatever you need to do next (some pies need blind baking – pumpkin pie and choc pecan pie do not)

(blind baking: pre-cooking the crust. it must be weighted down, by the way.)