This is a basic pâte brisée which we started making years ago based on an article in a Martha Stewart magazine. The food processor makes this easy and the result is a flaky, buttery, double crust. The dough can be made ahead, stored overnight in the fridge or frozen, so any pie is a roll away!

We start by cutting the 2 sticks of butter into small pieces and then place them on a salad plate. The plate is placed in the freezer to make sure it is very cold! We pour the water is in a small measuring cup and, to keep the water cold, place the measuring cup in a bowl with ice and water.

In the food processor, we put the flour, sugar, and salt. We pulse to mix (this is a task always done by one or more of the kids).

The butter from the freezer is added all at once and pulsed about 10 times until the size of peas. Lastly, we drizzle in just about half of the water, through the feed tube, with the machine running. This takes about 15 seconds, just until the dough comes together. We do not want it overprocessed, but we also want it to have enough water so it is not too crumbly. The remaining ¼ cup or so of water is discarded.

The dough is put on a sheet of plastic wrap and divided into two. Each is flattened into a disk, wrapped well with additional plastic wrap, and refrigerated for at least an hour before rolling out.

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