All Purpose Pie Dough

Chill butter and shortening

Lightly dust a small plate with flour. Scatter the butter cubes and shortening on the plate. Refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes.

Mix dry ingredients

Combine the flour, cornstarch, and salt in a food processor. Pulse to mix, about 5 times.

Cut in fat

Add the butter and shortening, and pulse until all the fat is in small pieces, the largest about the size of small peas, 12 to 15 times.

Add water

While pulsing the processor, add the water in a continuous stream (the mixture should be crumbly and start to form larger clumps, but not ball up around the blade), 8 to 10 seconds.

Gather dough

Lightly flour a work surface and your hands. Dump the mixture onto the work surface. Gather the dough into a ball.

Knead and shape

Gently knead the dough a couple of times to smooth it out, then shape the dough into a disk almost 1 inch thick.

Refrigerate

Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before rolling, or up to overnight.

Divide dough

If you're dividing the dough for 4 or 5 individual pies, after kneading to smooth the dough, evenly divide it into the number of pieces you need. If your individual pie dishes have a capacity of 1 cup or slightly more, divide the dough into 4 pieces. If your pans have less capacity, cut into 5 pieces.

Shape individual portions

Shape each piece into a ball, flatten into a 3/4-inch-thick disk, then wrap individually in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight, before using.

Make second batch

If you prefer to top your pie with pastry (instead of using a potato or cornbread topping), make two batches of the dough. After filling the pie shell, roll out the second piece of dough to be used as the top crust.