Okay, gang, since when is making pie dough so dang difficult? I don’t remember it being this tough. I either did something terribly wrong tonight, or I block it out after each pie making experience how inept I feel while judging how crumbly the dough should be…We’ll see how it turns out tomorrow.

I haven’t tried this recipe before—it’s one I clipped from the SF Chronicle over the summer to accompany their recipe for a peach-blueberry pie. But tomorrow I’m making a classic double-crust apple pie. Oh, heaven on a plate.

Here’s the Chronicle’s recipe:

2 3/4 cups flour
2 tbs. granulated sugar
Pinch of kosher salt
16 tbs. (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
About 5 tbs. ice water
Flour, for rolling out the dough

In lieu of shortening, witness copious amounts of butter…

Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and butter in a food processor, and pulse the mixture until the butter is the size of small peas. Add 5 tablespoons ice water, then pulse until the dough is crumbly.

Press the dough into two flat 1-inch-thick disks. One disk should use two-thirds of the dough for the crust, the other disk should use the remaining one-third for the lid. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour or up to two days.

It’s going to be a wonderful meal: roasted chicken for dinner and sweet apple pie for dessert. More blogging to come!