Pocket Pies

First, I apologize for not posting the last few days. We drove to Portland, Oregon for our anniversay and I didn't bake! Today, is another game day and I was, once again, up early making the tailgate picnic for my husband and our friend. It's also rainy, so in addition to baking, I made a pot of chili to pack up as well.
The first thing I made up was pie dough to make these cute Pocket Pies. I found these molds at Williams-Sonoma this summer and have had fun making blueberry and cherry pies with the Star and Heart shapes. In Portland, I bought the Apple and Pumpkin molds to continue with the fruits of fall. My pie crust is easy and makes four disks that will easily freeze for up to six months. A good idea to make dough up now for Thanksgiving and Christmas (which is just around the corner!)





PERFECT PIE DOUGH
4 cups All-purpose Flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
Place all the dry ingredients into the KitchenAid with the paddle attachment. Turn on low and mix up the dry ingredients. Then, add 1 3/4 cup butter-flavored Crisco,(I use the sticks for ease in measuring,) Cut in cubes and add to the dry ingredients, while the mixer is running. Incorporate the Crisco, but don't overmix; it should still see some clumps of shortening through the dough at this point.
In a 2-cup glass measuring cup, add: 1/2 cold water, 1 egg, and 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar. Use a small fork and mix up well. While the mixer is running on low, pour the wet ingredients over the dry. Mix only until the dough comes together and no dry ingredients showing. Turn out onto a board, very lightly dusted with flour, and knead together. I form the dough into a large log and use my dough scrapper to cut it into fourths. Then I flattened them into disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate one hour. If you're freezing the dough for later use, place the wrapped disks into a freezer bag. (Make sure you mark the bag with the date). This pie dough rolls out beautifully and no matter how much you work with it, it never gets tough!