Pie dough

Makes a double crust for one pie

Prep time: 15 minutes

Chill time: 1 hour

Lue Gonsales of Modesto lost her mincemeat pie recipe using prepared mincemeat. We feature a Martha Stewart recipe in today's Mailbox for mincemeat pie filling. This is Stewart's recipe for pie dough. Stewart says: "Pâte brisee is the French version of classic pie or tart pastry. Pressing the dough into a disc rather than shaping it into a ball allows it to chill faster."

Ingredients:

2½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

¼ to ½ cup ice water

Instructions:

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt and sugar. Add butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.

With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together; if it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.

Per 1/8 of crust only: 348 calories; 4 grams protein; 30 grams carbohydrates; 23 grams fat (15 saturated, 6 monounsaturated, 2 polyunsaturated); 61 milligrams cholesterol; 295 milligrams sodium; 1 gram fiber; 60 percent calories from fat.