Florentines

Almost twenty years ago, when I was first starting my private chef business, a couple of local cookbook authors approached me about cooking a dinner at the Culinary Center of Kansas City for the Les Dames d’Escoffier holiday gathering.   The theme for the menu was an Italian Farmhouse dinner.  It was a large and festive affair, and I still remember several of their menu items…a savory mushroom lasagne…an Italian apple tart…and a lovely, crisp cookie (for the post dinner cookie platter) called a Chocolate Florentine. 

The Florentine was unlike most of the Christmas cookies of my youth:  Not too sweet…refined and petite… with an addictive tender crunch.  I loved them.  I’m not sure I have ever made any of the other recipes from that dinner again, but I make the Florentine cookies almost every year…and I teach them in one of my holiday cookie classes.  They are that good.

For years I thought these were an Italian cookie.  The name sounds Italian…and I encountered them through that Italian-themed dinner.  But they are actually Scandinavian in origin—sometimes called Swedish Oat Crisps…or Oatmeal Lace Cookies.  There is an Italian Florentine cookie that is quite similar, but it calls for almonds instead of oatmeal, sometimes includes minced candied peel…and is made with a cooked base.

The Florentines that I make do not involve any cooked syrups…and could not be easier to make.  All you have to do is combine the dry ingredients, melt some butter and mix it with the liquid ingredients…and then mix everything together and chill until firm.  (You don’t even need an electric mixer.)

Some might consider the baking process a bit tedious, but once you establish a rhythm, the whole process goes rather quickly.  To begin, choose a baking sheet without a rim.  This will allow you to slide the foil sheets of cookies on and off the baking sheet smoothly and quickly.  Cut a stack of foil to fit the length of your cookie sheet.  (I have never made these cookies on parchment paper, so I don’t know how that would work…but you could certainly try it that way if you like.)  Spray the first sheet with non-stick pan spray and arrange level teaspoon portions of dough on the sheet.  Using fingers dipped in water, pat the balls of dough into 2-inch rounds.  Transfer to the oven and bake.  While one sheet bakes, begin forming cookies on the next sprayed sheet of foil.  When the cookie is done baking, slide the sheet off onto the counter or a wire rack and then slide the sheet under the next sheet of formed cookies.  Repeat this process until all of the cookies are baked.

If you have a one teaspoon sized cookie scoop, the process will go very quickly.  But if you don’t (and I didn’t for years), just use a measuring teaspoon.  Scoop the dough, using the edge of the container (or your thumb) to level the dough off.  Then, use your thumb or index finger to push the dough out of the scoop and onto the sheet.  Since you will be flattening the cookie anyway, it won’t matter if your scoop isn’t perfectly round…you can make it round when you flatten it out.  The process of using a teaspoon instead of a scoop is a bit messier, but if you keep a bowl of water handy (to dampen your fingers) and a towel to occasionally wipe them off, you will soon find a rhythm and be working very quickly.

When the cookies are cool, peel the foil away.  I find it easiest to do this by holding the sheet in one hand and using the fingers of the hand holding the foil sheet to simultaneously pull the foil down and back while supporting and lightly pressing on the underside of each cookie…all while holding the cookie itself steady with the other hand.   This is much more difficult to describe than it is to actually do.  Once again, you will find a rhythm and will do it quickly without thinking.  If you try to chisel the cookies off the foil with your fingers or a spatula, they may shatter or break…they are fragile. 

To form the sandwiches, arrange half of the cookies with the bottoms (the smooth side that was attached to the foil) turned face up on your work surface (or parchment lined baking sheets).  Using a small parchment piping bag, drizzle a small amount of chocolate over each cookie (or smear on a small amount with a palate knife…or small offset spatula…or the back of a spoon...).   

Use a light hand with the chocolate.  If you use a lot, it will ooze through the lacy holes of the cookies.  A thick layer of chocolate will also make the cookies hard.  These cookies are all about the tender crunch…and the caramel flavor of the baked sugar and butter.  The chocolate is an accent flavor—not the main event.  Place the remaining cookies with the bottom side down on top of the chocolate drizzled cookies, picking up each one as you do and gently rotating the two cookies in opposite directions to smear/spread the chocolate into an even, thin layer. 

I love the way this cookie straddles the world of cookie and candy.  Because of its size, it is a nice little sweet to offer at the end of a large meal—with coffee and tea..or a fortified or dessert wine—when larger, richer cookies (or a big dessert) would just be too much.  It also makes a great afternoon treat (with coffee or tea).  And of course, it is a beautiful addition to any cookie platter that you might be making.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Florentines

2 c. quick cooking oats (200g)

1 c. sugar (200g)

2/3 c. all-purpose flour (76g)

1/4 t. salt

1/4 c. corn syrup (83g)

1/4 c. milk (60g)

zest of 1 orange

1 t. vanilla

2/3 c. (10 T. plus 2 t./ 151g) melted butter

4 to 5 oz. milk or bittersweet chocolate, melted

Combine the first four ingredients in a medium bowl and stir to combine.  Add the next five ingredients and stir until homogenous. Chill the dough for at least 1 hour.

Cut 6 sheets of foil to fit your cookie sheet (see note).  Lightly spray a sheet of foil with pan spray.  Place level teaspoon-sized scoops of dough on the prepared sheet, spacing the mounds of dough 2 inches apart (you should be able to place 20 scoops on a sheet).  Dip your fingers in some water and pat the dough out into flat rounds that are about 2-inches in diameter.  Bake in a preheated 375° oven until the cookies are golden brown—about 5 to 7 minutes.  Rotate the cookie sheet at the half way point.  Remove the sheet from the oven and slide the sheet of foil off of the hot cookie sheet onto a rack or the counter.  Let the cookies cool completely. 

Repeat with the remaining dough with more sheets of prepared foil. 

Peel the foil away from the cookies.  Spread or drizzle a small amount of the chocolate on the flat side of half of the cookies.  Top each with the remaining cookies, twisting the two halves in opposite directions to help spread out the chocolate.  Let the chocolate solidify.  Store the cookies in an airtight tin or Tupperware-type container (being careful not to crush the cookies…they are fragile!)  Makes 60 sandwich cookies

 (Recipe adapted from A Kansas City Christmas: Traditions & Recipes from the Heartland, by Karen C. Adler & Jane D. Guthrie)

Notes: 

• Use a rimless cookie sheet so that you can slide the foil off without having to pull it over the rim.  If you don’t have a rimless cookie sheet, simply turn a rimmed cookie sheet upside down (which will give you a rimless surface.)

• It is not necessary to temper the chocolate for these because you will not see the chocolate once it’s sandwiched between two cookies.  However, tempered chocolate has a much nicer texture.  To obtain a quick temper, melt half of the chocolate (over a pan of simmering water or in the microwave at 50% power).  While the chocolate is melting, chop the remaining half very finely.  Stir the unmelted, finely chopped chocolate into the melted chocolate, continuing to stir until the chocolate is smooth and all of it is fully melted.  Use immediately.

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David Lebovitz's Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Granola

I think I have mentioned before that I sometimes share recipes on my blog mostly for my own benefit.  Since I cook so many different things...in so many different places....and under such a variety of circumstances...it can sometimes be difficult to remember what I did on a particular occasion with a particular recipe.  My blog has been a wonderful way to document—not just with words, but with pictures (which are extremely helpful)—what I did and how I did it.  This documentation gives me a reasonably good chance of reproducing something that I particularly liked on a future date.  Today's post is one of those kinds of posts—although, I think anyone who loves peanut butter...and chocolate...and granola...will be happy to know about this recipe.

The recipe is for David Lebovitz's fantastic Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Granola.  When I made it the first time a couple of years ago—and loved it enough to make it immediately again and give it as a gift—I made it exactly as it was written (or so I thought) and shared a picture of my results with a link to Lebovitz's original post on my Facebook page, thinking this would be enough.  But this weekend, when I went to make it again, I found that I couldn't remember a few things....  Old fashioned or quick oats?  What brand of chocolate?  Etc, etc..... 

So...for my own future reference...here are my observations and preferences, in no particular order:

The original recipe calls for maple syrup or honey...your choice.  But since I think granola is better on the sweeter side...and honey is sweeter than maple syrup, I went with honey.  Also...peanut butter and honey sort of belong together.  At least in my mind....

I have only made this recipe with old fashioned oats.  I think they give an addictively chewy and substantial result.  I can only assume that quick oats would give a lighter—and also less clumpy (since the peanut butter goop has to cover more surface area with the more thinly shaved quick oats)—result. 

There were lots of comments and questions on Lebovitz's original post about putting the chocolate chips in the oven...  Wouldn't they melt?  Lebovtiz says that commercial chips are made with baking resistant chocolate so they will be fine.  He goes on to say that if you chop up a bar of quality chocolate instead, you will have some difficulties (i.e.—melting in the oven).  So...even though I was dubious... and even though several commenters had had difficulties with this very thing...I trusted that the chips wouldn't melt.  (In general I think Lebovitz's recipes are accurate and reliable.)  And just like he promised, they did not melt.  I remember that they did seem to want to get soft....but found that if I carefully turned the granola over with a pancake turner—as opposed to vigorously stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula—that the chips maintained their shape and their presence in the granola. 

Because I was in a hurry this time, I didn't look up my old Facebook post to see if I mentioned what kind of chocolate chips I used.  I always keep Nestle's semi-sweet chips on hand, but for some reason I had it in my head that I had used Ghirardelli's Bittersweet (60%) chips (which are my favorite).  It became evident very quickly (when I tried to stir the granola at the half way point) that I had not used Ghirardelli's Bittersweet before.  The chips were visibly melting and I was unable to stir.  When I checked my Facebook post, I saw that I had mentioned that I used Nestle's....  (Now I have it written down in two places...hopefully I'll bother to look before I dive in next time.)

Because I was unable to stir the recent batch of granola, I did discover something useful.  If you happen to be someone who prefers your granola in large, snackable shards (I admit to being one of these kinds of people), then not stirring is the way to go.  You will be able to break the granola up a bit after it cools, but it will still tend to want to remain in large clumps and chunks.  If you like a more free-flowing granola—appropriate for sprinkling over your yogurt at breakfast—make sure you stir once or twice (during the baking process, and as the granola cools).

Finally, I discovered this last time that purchasing dry roasted nuts and seeds isn't as straight forward as one would hope.  Look for nuts and seeds that have just nuts/seeds and salt.  A national brand that shall remain nameless adds all kinds of junk and flavorings (including celery, paprika, onion and garlic flavoring...not things I want in my sweet granola...).  If unadulterated dry roasted nuts are not available you can always purchase raw product and toast and salt them yourself.  Or...simply buy nuts that have been roasted with oil.  Either of these is better than being able to taste garlic...or celery...in your granola. 

This really is a fine recipe...and if you love granola...and peanut butter and chocolate...you should definitely make it.  I do have to admit though, I laugh every time I read one line of the recipe.  Lebovitz tells us that you can "store the granola in an airtight container at room temperature. It will keep for one to two months."  It is of course likely that this is a true statement....but I'm not sure in what universe someone could manage to make a batch of this granola last for longer than a few days.

 

David Lebovitz's Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Granola

If you want big shards of granola that you can snack on, don't stir the granola as it bakes.  If you want a more traditional, separated, granola, be sure to stir once or twice during baking...and a few times as the granola cools.

3 cups (300g) old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup (150g) dry roasted (lightly salted) peanuts

3/4 cup (120g) chocolate chips

1/2 cup (70g) sunflower seeds (dry roasted, lightly salted)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

1/2 cup (130g) smooth peanut butter (regular)
1/2 cup (160g) mild-flavored honey
1/4 cup (60g) packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons water

Preheat the oven to 325ºF (165ºC).  In a large bowl, mix together the oats, peanuts, chocolate chips, sunflower seeds, cinnamon, and salt.

In a small saucepan, warm the peanut butter, honey, brown sugar, and water over low heat, stirring constantly just until the mixture is smooth. The mixture will be barely tepid...don’t get the mixture too hot or it will separate.  (If this happens, stick the pan in a large bowl of ice water and stir until the mixture cools down and becomes homogenous and smooth.)

Scrape the peanut butter mixture into the dry ingredients and mix it in well, coating the oats, peanuts and seeds well.

Transfer the granola mixture to a parchment-lined baking sheet and spread it in an even layer.

Toast the granola in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the granola is a golden brown all over.  If you are going to "stir" during baking (see note above), use a pancake turner-style spatula to flip the granola over in sections...stirring in the traditional sense will smash the softening chocolate chips.  When you stir, make sure you get the granola on the edges moved toward the center and the granola in the center of the pan moved to the edges since the edges tend to darken quicker than the center. Remove from oven and let cool completely.  Makes about 6 to 8 cups, depending on whether you have shards or crumbly granola. 

Storage: Store the granola in an airtight container at room temperature. It will keep for one to two months.

(Recipe from davidlebovitz.com) 

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Occasionally I will decide that a recipe I love...that I have been making for years...needs to be changed.  I actually think it would be odd if this didn't happen now and then.  I'm always learning new techniques...and picking up new ideas—and I want to apply these things to old favorites.  Sometimes a revision is called for simply because my tastes have changed.  The fact that I revamp a recipe doesn't necessarily mean the old/original version was bad...it just means I've found a way to make it even better.

I share all this because the cookie I am posting today—Chocolate Caramel Bars—has been part of a Christmas cookie class that I have been teaching for 10 years.  I taught it again last week...and included the "old" version in the class.  I had decided to try my hand at reworking the recipe the weekend before the class and just didn't have it ready in time.  But it is ready now. 

If you have the old version, you already know they are seriously delicious.  (Early on, these cookies were christened "Danger Bars" by a friend.  Rich as they are, it is difficult to limit yourself to one...or two...)  You might wonder how they could possibly be better.  Well...  this version has more caramel (just a bit...).  And...  the caramel is slightly softer (but still slices neatly and cleanly).   

The softness comes from the addition of a touch of honey, which adds to the flavor as well (making them reminiscent of my favorite recipe for caramels).  The crust is still chewy...but not at all hard....  They are just what I wanted when I set out to revise the recipe:  a cookie bar in which all the good things about the old are even better.

For those of you who have never had my Christmas cookie class:  If you like caramel...and chocolate...and nuts...and crunchy-chewy oatmeal crumble, you will love this cookie.  It is almost more of a candy bar than a cookie.  And like the original it is dangerously and addictively delicious (only more so...).  A batch makes a great gift (they are sturdy enough to ship).  If you make them, I think you will find they are wonderful the day they are made...and even better the day after.  In fact, they just seem to keep getting better with age.  How long these cookies will keep I really can't say...  They never seem to hang around for long.

Chocolate Caramel Bars

(a.k.a. Danger Bars)

 

1 1/4 c. (145 g.) all-purpose flour

1 c. (100 g.) quick oats

1/4 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

3/4 c. (170 g.) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 c. (150 g.) packed light brown sugar

1 1/2 c. (300 g) sugar

1 1/2 T. unsalted butter

3/4 c. Heavy cream

2 T. (41 g.) honey

1 t. vanilla

1/8 t. salt

1 c. (6 oz.) bittersweet chocolate—either chips or bar chocolate, cut into 1/2-inch squares

1 c. (4 oz.) coarsely broken toasted walnuts

Prepare the Cookie Base:

Combine the flour, oats, baking soda and salt; set aside.

Cream butter and sugar just until smooth.  Stir in the dry ingredients just until the mixture is homogenous and crumbly/clumpy.  Scoop out 1 cup of the “crumbles” (140 g.) and set aside.

Butter a 13x9-inch baking pan—focusing mainly on the sides.  Line the bottom of the pan with a rectangle of parchment (don't butter the parchment).  Press the remaining crumbs of dough into the pan in an even layer.  Bake in a 350° oven until set and golden...about 10 to 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cool for at least 10 minutes.

Prepare the caramel: 

Place the sugar in a heavy medium-sized saucepan.  

Place the pan over medium-high to high heat.  Watch carefully—the sugar will immediately turn to caramel as it melts.  Shake the pan occasionally to prevent the melted sugar from burning and to expose more dry sugar to the heat.  If the sugar begins to smoke, lower the heat a bit.  Eventually there will be a few hard lumps of sugar floating in liquid caramel.  Remove from the heat and stir until all the lumps are dissolved and the caramel is a clear golden amber—returning the pan to the heat briefly if the lumps don’t dissolve.  This whole process will take less than 5 minutes.  

Off the heat, add the butter, stirring until incorporated.  Slowly pour in the cream while stirring with a long-handled wooden spoon (be very careful when adding the cream and butter as the caramel will sputter and boil vigorously).  Add the honey.  Return the pan to the heat and boil over medium-high heat until the caramel reaches 238° (soft ball stage).  

Working quickly, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla and salt.

Immediately pour the hot caramel into a greased, heatproof 2-cup measuring cup.  You should have 1 1/2 cups of caramel.  Let the caramel cool for 10 minutes.  You may use the caramel immediately, or let it sit up to an hour at room temperature (warm the caramel slightly before using if it is no longer pourable).

Build & Finish the Cookie Bars:

Pour the caramel evenly over the cooled crust.  

Scatter the walnuts, chocolate chunks and reserved crumbs of dough evenly over the caramel.  

Return to the oven and bake until the caramel is bubbling—about 20 to 22 minutes.

Allow the bars to cool completely in the pan.  Use a small sharp knife or metal spatula to separate the bars from the sides of the pan.  Invert the bars onto a cookie sheet, remove the parchment and then re-invert them onto a cutting board.  Cut the cookies into bars—anywhere from 32 to 64 depending on the size bar you want.  You will get 32 2x1½-inch bars, 48 1½x1½-inch bars 

or 64 1x1½-inch bars.  Place the bars on 2 or 3 layers of paper towels for at least 15 minutes to absorb excess butter before storing air tight between layers of waxed paper.

(Recipe adapted from recipes in Rose’s Christmas Cookies, by Rose Levy Beranbaum and Midwest Living Magazine, December 1990)

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Raspberry-Rhubarb Streusel Pie...a lesson in simplicity

As much as I promote the idea of simplicity in the foods that I make (for my classes, myself and my clients), every now and then I find that I have to learn this lesson all over again.  My goal is always to make foods that taste like themselves...to through the preparation process enhance the innate charms of the featured ingredients...not cover them up.  Most of the time, a lot of different additions and seasonings aren't necessary to accomplish this.  It is true that a multitude of ingredients—when combined with knowledge—can produce flavors of mysterious and delicious subtlety...but more often than not, extreme complexity masks flavor.

A few years ago I posted a rhubarb pie with an interesting streusel featuring the spices typically found in chai spice.  In this particular case, complexity was my friend and the pie was delicious.  The walnuts and spices combined with the rhubarb produced a harmonious and memorable whole.  I thought adding some raspberries to the mix would only make it better.  I was wrong.  The new pie tasted of nothing.  It was sort of sweet...sort of tart...sort of spicy...  But there was just too much going on...too much vying for dominance.    

As is often the case when something like this happens, I made the mistake of thinking I needed to add something to wake up the flavor.  Since most fruit pies benefit (particularly berry pies) from a little lemon, I added that.  But because of the other strong flavors it still didn't have the clean fruit flavor that is the hallmark of a fine fruit pie. 

I then got rid of all the spices but one (cardamom—knowing I liked this with raspberry) and changed the slightly bitter walnuts for sweeter almonds (a friend to both raspberry and cardamom).  I also increased the lemon juice in the filling.  At this point, the filling was much better (sweet-tart and fruity)...but the streusel was still out of place...calling attention to itself rather than supporting the delicious raspberry and rhubarb filling.

It was then that I realized that I needed to back up.  So I made a simple oatmeal and brown sugar streusel (with no spices)...and added lemon zest and a little vanilla in the filling.  Finally, my pie tasted like what it was...delicious fruit in a tender crust with a sweet and crunchy topping.    

I confess that the inclusion of lemon zest and vanilla bean might seem to some like a complicated addition...but to me they are not.  They fall solidly into the tried and true camp.  Lemon zest is a standard addition to pies that include lemon juice....it adds an aromatic quality to what is otherwise just the acidity of the lemon.  As for the vanilla bean, I was considering adding some vanilla extract when I ran across another raspberry and rhubarb pie that included vanilla bean instead.  Since my very favorite jam—damson plum—goes from delicious to spectacular when made with a vanilla bean, I thought including it in a pie of similarly tart ingredients was a good idea.  And I do think it's delicious...but you should feel free to leave it (and the zest) out, if you prefer.  Either way, this really is just a simple, old-fashioned fruit pie.  The combination of the raspberries and the rhubarb provides all the complexity one might need

Raspberry-Rhubarb Streusel Pie

2/3 c. all-purpose flour (80 g.)
2/3 c. oats—quick or old-fashioned (62 g.)
1/3 c. granulated sugar (66 g.)
1/3 c. packed light brown sugar (66 g.)
1/4 t. salt
1/3 c. unsalted butter, melted (75 g.)

1 c. sugar (200 g.)
Zest of 1/2 of a lemon
1 vanilla bean
pinch of salt
3 T. cornstarch (27 g.)
4 c. diced rhubarb (1 lbs. trimmed weight)
2 c. fresh raspberries (8 to 9 oz.)
Juice of half of a lemon (2 T.) 

1 recipe Pâte Brisée, rolled out for a 9-inch single crust pie and chilled

Combine the dry ingredients for the streusel in a medium bowl. Add the butter and stir with a fork or rubber spatula until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs; chill.

Preheat the oven to 425°. Split the vanilla pod and scrape the seeds into the sugar in a small bowl.  (Reserve the pod for another use, if you like.)  Add the lemon zest.  Rub the vanilla and lemon zest into the sugar with your fingers.  Add the salt and cornstarch and stir to distribute.  Place the rhubarb and lemon juice in a large bowl.  Add the dry ingredients and stir until moistened.  Add the raspberries and gently fold in. Turn the fruit into the chilled crust, scraping the bowl well. Spread the streusel evenly over the fruit. 

Transfer the pie to the lowest rack of the oven. Bake the pie at 425° for 20 minutes. Cover the edges with a foil ring and turn the temperature down to 375° and bake for 20 minutes. Turn the temperature down to 325° and bake until the streusel is golden brown, the juices are bubbling thickly in the center of the pie and the bottom crust is browned—another 25-35 minutes. If the juices ever threaten to over-flow, slide a baking sheet under the baking pie.  Cool the pie to room temperature before cutting (this allows the juices to “firm up”).  If desired, re-warm the pie briefly just before cutting. Serve with vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream.

Notes:

• If fresh rhubarb is unavailable, you may use frozen. Spread on a rack set over a baking sheet and let sit at room temperature until just beginning to thaw (it should feel a bit soft)—about 30 to 40 minutes. If any of the chunks of rhubarb are very large, cut them down to an appropriate size. Mix the filling and fill the crust as for fresh. Leave the oven temperature at 425° for 25 minutes. You will have to bake the pie longer at 325° longer before you see bubbles at the center of the pie...perhaps 10 to 15 minutes longer.
• If you prefer your rhubarb to be more heavily sweetened, you may add another 2 T. of sugar to the filling. Don't reduce the lemon juice, the pie will lose its bright flavor.
• You may leave the vanilla bean out...or substitute a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Add with the lemon juice.

  

Pâte Brisée

(Basic Pie Dough)

1 1/3 c. all-purpose flour (150g)
1/2 t. salt
6 T. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces (85 g.)
2 T. vegetable shortening (28 g.)
3 to 4 T. ice water

Combine the flour and the salt in a medium-sized bowl. Rub the butter into the flour until the mixture looks like cornmeal and peas.  Add the shortening and quickly rub in.  Drizzle 3 T. ice water over the flour/butter mixture. Using your hands, fluff the mixture until it begins to clump, adding more water if necessary. If, when you squeeze some of the mixture it holds together, the dough is finished. Turn the dough out onto a counter and form into a mound. Using the heel of your hand, gradually push all of the dough away from you in short forward strokes, flattening out the lumps. Continue until all of the dough is flat. Using a bench scraper, scrape the dough off the counter, forming it into a single clump as you do. Wrap in plastic wrap and press into a thick disk. Chill for at least 30 minutes.

To roll out, let the dough warm up for a moment or two. Butter and flour a 9-inch pie plate and set it aside. Flour the work surface and the rolling pin. Begin rolling from the center of the dough outward. After each stroke, rotate the dough a quarter turn—always making sure that there is sufficient flour to keep the dough from sticking. Keep rolling and turning until you have a round of dough that is about 1/8 to 1/6 –inch in thickness. Using a lid or an upside-down bowl, trim the dough to form a 13-inch circle. Brush off the excess flour and fold the dough circle in half. Slide the outspread fingers of both hands under the dough and gently lift it and transfer it to the prepared pie plate. Unfold the dough and ease it into the pan being careful not to stretch it. Fold the extra dough under along the rim of the pan so that it is double in thickness. Crimp the edge. Chill the pie shell for at least 1/2 hour.

Note: You may replace the vegetable shortening with butter for an all butter crust.

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