PIE CRUST TIPS FOR SUCCESS:

• A pastry blender is a great help to cut in shortening evenly. If you don't own one, purchase one! It's the "cutting in" of the shortening into tiny lumps that gives pastry its flaky texture.
• Make sure the shortening is chilled. It will make the pastry easier to work with and will give you a flakier and more tender crust.
• Chill the dough for about an hour before rolling to help prevent sticking.
• If your hands are unusually warm, then "cool" them off with a couple of ice cubes and then drying thoroughly before handling the dough. The cooler the dough during preparation, the flakier the crust.
• Anchor a pastry cloth around a board with tape and use a cloth cover for your rolling pin to keep the dough from sticking. Rub flour into both; this will prevent sticking, yet the flour won't be absorbed by the dough.
• Due to the amount of fat in pastry and crusts, pie plates or pans are not usually greased.
• Nonstick pie pans can cause pastry to shrink excessively when baking one-crust pie shells. Be sure pastry is securely hooked over the edge of a nonstick pan.
• Do not stretch the dough to fit the pie pan, it will shrink from the edge if you do. Make sure to roll it out at least 1-inch larger than the pie pan.
• Do not overwork the dough, less handling makes a more tender and flaky crust.
• For pumpkin and custard pies, brush beaten egg over unbaked pastry shell before filling. This helps prevent the crust from becoming soggy.
• A pair of kitchen scissors makes the best tool to evenly trim the overhanging edge of the pastry before folding under and fluting.
• Brushing the top crust with slightly beaten egg white will give it a glazed look.
• Brushing the top with milk will give a shiny appearance.
• Sprinkling the top crust with granulated or turbinado (raw) sugar will give a delightful sparkling appearance.
• Cutting designs such as apples and leaves out of excess dough and "gluing" them onto the unbaked pastry by moistening the underside of the cut-out, makes another lovely decoration for your "masterpiece".
• Prepare your crust ahead of time—it keeps for about three days in the refrigerator and three months in the freezer.