Pie Crust Recipe

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. sugar (optional)
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cut in small pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Direction:
Mix dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Using two knives or a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the water a little at a time until dough holds together. Chill dough for about 1 hour in plastic wrap. Form into a flat disk to make rolling easier. Roll out dough at least 2" larger than needed. Place in pie pan.
Bake pie crust at 375 degrees. For partially baked pie shells, bake 10 to 12 minutes. For fully baked crusts, bake 15 to 18 minutes. Instead of using foil or beans to hold down the crust, I use a foil pan that is the same size as the pie pan and place in the crust for the first 6 minutes. When crust begins to color around the edges, take the pan out and finish to desired brown-ness.